It’s easy to see how following God’s instructions to get out of debt affected our prosperity. But the fact is, our decision to obey other, seemingly unrelated commands we saw in the Word also had an impact on our finances.
That’s because you can’t separate God’s financial principles from the rest of His principles. They all work together. So you have to take the whole Bible to have a good foundation for godly prosperity.
The primary commandment Jesus gave us, for example, is to “love one another” (John 15:12). To the casual observer that commandment may seem to have nothing to do with money, yet to have true prosperity love must be the guiding force of your life. You must be quick to apply scriptural principles for living like these found in 1 Peter 3:
Finally, all [of you] should be of one and the same mind (united in spirit), sympathizing [with one another], loving [each other] as brethren (of one household), compassionate and courteous (tenderhearted and humble). Never return evil for evil or insult for insult (scolding, tongue-lashing, berating), but on the contrary blessing [praying for their welfare, happiness and protection, and truly pitying and loving them]. For know that to this you have been called, that you may yourselves inherit a blessing…For let him who wants to enjoy life and see good days…keep his tongue free from evil and his lips from guile (treachery, deceit). Let him turn away from wickedness and shun it, and let him do right … (verses 8-11, The Amplified Bible).
Think of it this way. Every right action you take, every godly decision you make, every time you go love’s way instead of the selfish way, you’re putting another block on your foundation of prosperity.
When you pray for your enemies instead of hating them, you become a candidate for increase. When you turn away from immorality, you’re turning toward blessing. When you see things in your life that you know aren’t right and you correct them according to the Word of God, you’re preparing yourself to handle greater financial abundance.
The book of Proverbs is full of God’s wisdom about everyday things and decisions. It will help you learn how to handle your affairs in a way that is pleasing to God. And since it has 31 chapters, by reading a chapter a day along with your other Bible reading, you can finish it in just a month. It will increase you to read Proverbs over and over.
In Proverbs you’ll find out, for example, that the quality of faithfulness and the blessing of prosperity are tied together very closely. Wherever you find one, you’ll find the other. For as Proverbs 28:20 says, “A faithful man shall abound with blessings … ” According to Webster’s dictionary, a faithful man is one who “adheres to duty, of true fidelity, loyal, true to allegiance, and constant in the performance of duties or services.”
Luke 16:10 says, “He who is faithful in a very little [thing], is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest and unjust in a very little [thing], is dishonest and unjust also in much” (The Amplified Bible). So if you want to be trusted with more and be promoted to a better job, be faithful and honest in the job you have right now.
You may think Christian people don’t need to hear about honesty and faithfulness, but they do. I know personally of cases where Christians have stolen money from their employers.
They may not have intended to “steal” anything. They may have just thought, Well, I’ll borrow this money for a couple of weeks and then I’ll put it back and no harm will be done. The problem is, you can’t borrow something from someone without their permission. That’s stealing and you can’t be blessed and steal.
Taking that money may have seemed all right to those people when they did it. They may have made excuses and justified it in their own mind. But if they’d been studying and obeying the Word of God, they wouldn’t have fallen for those excuses. That’s because the Word discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). It teaches you what is right and what isn’t.
It reveals not man’s way, but God’s way of doing and being right. It enables you to lay a firm foundation for godly prosperity.
Become a Candidate for Increase - Gloria Copeland
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