John Avanzini - Prosperity is a Reward

Prosperity is a Reward

Is Poverty Gods Will?

There are many who teach that prosperity is not always the will of God. Others teach that God wants His children to prosper. With such an enormous difference of opinion, where should believers go for an answer? Do we turn to the experiences of men, the acquired knowledge of Bible commentators, or should we go directly to the Word of God? I hope your choice is the Word of God.

... let God be true, but every man a liar....

Romans 3:4

Please give some thought to the following question. If poverty is God's will for His children, why does the Bible consistently speak of it as a penalty for wrongdoing or wrong thinking?

It only stands to reason that if poverty had any redeeming value, the Bible would use it at least once as a reward for faithfulness and godly conduct. However, a careful examination of the Scriptures shows just the opposite is true. Our

Heavenly Father never uses poverty, insufficiency, or lack to reward His children for obedience or proper behavior.

Poverty is Destructive

... the destruction of the poor is their poverty.

Proverbs 10:15

This verse says that poverty brings destruction. I cannot help but think about the effect poverty had on my own family. Before my wife and I learned that God wanted us to prosper, my family had to go without many of the things they needed. Notice, I said they had to go without things they needed, not just things they wanted.

If we had only known that our generous giving and faithful service to the Lord entitled us to much greater financial benefits than we were experiencing, everything would have been different. No doubt, several of my precious children would have had braces for their teeth. They would have enjoyed warmer clothing for winter, not to mention proper vacations every year. As painful as it is to think of it, I know our poor state prevented the fulfillment of many of their special wishes and desires. Shortage, lack, and just barely getting by were the cruel tricks Satan was able to use against us. I can attribute all this unpleasantness to the traditional church's erroneous teaching about poverty and its supposed virtues.

The destructive force of poverty can even turn a blessing into a curse. For instance, if a poor family were to receive a much-needed automobile as a gift, the car would certainly be a blessing. However, the destructive force of their poverty would erode this wonderful blessing. Their shortage would force them to neglect much of the necessary car maintenance. Before long, their nice new car would become run down and in need of costly repairs, further burdening their already strained budget.

Now think about it. Would the destruction of the automobile come about because they didn't appreciate it? No, the automobile would deteriorate because the lack of money would prevent oil changes at the proper intervals, as well as other preventative measures. Eventually, the blessing of a fine new automobile would become a costly stack of repair bills.

The destructiveness of poverty also affects many churches. I was scheduled to preach for a certain pastor not long ago. As he met me in the airport, his first words were, "Brother John, you've come just in time. We just had to pay an enormous debt from a lawsuit against the church. We couldn't afford liability insurance, so we had to sell the church property to come up with the money to settle." (This church had begun to meet in two undersized buildings.) The pastor continued, "Brother John, that is not our only problem. For some reason, the church offerings have steadily gone down, and now we are twenty thousand dollars behind with our monthly bills."

Let's ask a question. Was this church facing ruin because they had surplus money in the bank? Was it prosperity that brought about their problems? No, their ruin came because they didn't have enough money to insure their property against possible lawsuits. Now don't be surprised by what you are about to read, for the Bible actually says that having money is a form of defense.

For wisdom is a defense even as money is a defense....

Ecclesiastes 7:12, Amplified

While I was at this church, I realized the congregation seldom received any teaching about biblical economics. Through the years, I have discovered that when the pastor doesn't teach regularly about money, there will always be shortage in that church's finances. Notice that the Bible agrees with this observation.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge....

Hosea 4:6

A lack of biblical knowledge will always cause some kind of problem. Without proper knowledge of what your Bible says about money and God's plan for your prosperity, the destructive force of poverty could rob you of many of the blessings God has for you. Proper information about biblical economics is critical to every believer's financial well being.

Now I want to turn your attention to a few things that bring poverty into a person's life. Remember the Bible speaks of poverty as a penalty.

Poverty Is the Penalty for Laziness

Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth , and thy want as an armed man.

Proverbs 6:6-11

According to these verses, poverty is the penalty for laziness. Another verse says almost the same thing.

Love not sleep , lest thou come to poverty....

Proverbs 20:13

Poverty Is the Penalty for Stinginess

There is that scattereth , and yet increaseth ; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

Please notice that the last part of this verse does not describe a non-giver. The words withholdeth more than is meet mean the giver has not given the proper amount. Many people give, but they harm themselves by giving less than they should. According to the Scriptures, this kind of stingy giving will lead them into poverty.

Many times people will say, "Brother John, we are givers, but for some reason, we are not prospering!" The main question in God's economy may not be, "Are you giving?" According to this verse, it is "Are you giving enough?"

When my wife and I learned about biblical economics, we started planting financial seed into the Gospel. After a while, it became obvious that we were not experiencing the abundant harvest God's Word promised. Thankfully, we had enough respect for God not to blame Him for our insufficient harvests. Through prayer and Bible study, we realized our problem was that we were not giving enough.

But remember thisif you give little, you will get little. A farmer who plants just a few seeds will get only a small crop, but if he plants much, he will reap much.

2 Corinthians 9:6, TLB

As soon as we moved into higher levels of sowing, we began to experience a much higher level of reaping.

The end result of not giving that which is proper is more and more insufficiency, which eventually leads to full blown poverty.

Notice these other translations.

It is possible to give freely and become more wealthy , but those who are stingy will lose everything.

Proverbs 11:24, NLT

One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

Proverbs 11:24, NIV

No thinking person wants to follow a course of action that will lead to greater and greater levels of insufficiency.

The verse that follows tells us what happens to the liberal giver who generously distributes his wealth.

Yes, the liberal man shall be rich! By watering others, he waters himself.