Prosperity or Persecution?

Recently, I posted a praise report on my Facebook page.  It read as follows: I was going shopping at Wal-mart this evening. Before I got in the parking lot, I thought I heard God say he'd save me a front row spot, in an aisle where I would be facing away from the store. So, I go in the lot a few minutes later. I'm rolling along slowly, stopping to let people and other cars by, crossed the whole store to the far exit when right then, someone pulls out of the first spot, and I rolled right in. That's not all. In the store, I got the first cashier with nobody in line while the other lines were into the aisles. I zipped right through. That's not all. I got permission to go to McDonalds. When I went to the store, it was packed. When I stopped on the way back, not a single car in the drive thru. This is rush hour mind you, the whole time. And people laughed at John Osteen for saying God saves us parking spots. We serve a great and mighty God.

It certainly did not take long to hear some chime in with the negative.   I heard about how we were only promised suffering in life.  I heard about how if we are not being chastised by God, that we must not be His.  I heard about how we are not blessed in material ways in this life.  I heard about how God is not our magic genie to make our lives all comfy.  Why is it so hard for people to accept the idea that at times, God may choose to bless His children with good things?  And why would a praise report about the goodness of God make people react as if you have uttered some profanity?  Maybe it was the Osteen reference, but I dealt with that issue on my last blog.

All throughout the Bible, we see the promises of blessing on those who believed.  A quick perusal of the Book of Proverbs will quickly show this.  Proverbs 10: ⁴ He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.  Is that not a promise from God?  There are many more in this book and the other 65 books to be found.  Mathew 7: ¹¹ If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?  If God knows the very number of the hairs on your head, don’t you think he would be intimately involved in your daily goings on? 

On the other hand, we also see throughout the bible men being tested, scorned, and persecuted.  Look at what Joseph went through, and Job, and Jesus himself.  We can cite a number of examples where we are told to shun riches and worldly things and look to spiritual things.  Mathew 6: ¹⁹ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:²⁰ But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:²¹ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  Numbers of other examples can be found.

It seems to happen that people run to the extremes.  Some will solely focus on teaching only prosperity and leave out the suffering.  Others will focus on the suffering and forget about the blessings.  Each of those extremes will miss out on what the real message is.  You won’t handle suffering well if you think God only blesses, and you will pass on great blessings if you think this life is only about suffering.  Neither one is the full council of God.

The truth is that there is a balance.  When we submit ourselves to god, we are His to do with as He so pleases.  If it pleases Him to bless us, we are so blessed.  If it pleases Him to try us, we are so blessed, for we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28)  I close with these words from Ecclesiastics 3
1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

² A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
³ A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴ A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵ A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
⁷ A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸ A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
⁹ What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
¹⁰ I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
¹¹ He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
¹² I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
¹³ And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
¹⁴ I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.