Greetings, dear Believers.
Have you heard of the story of King Midas? He became so greedy for gold that without thinking twice he quickly made a wish to turn everything that he would touch into gold. His wish was granted by the Greek god, Dionysus. This made the King so happy and delighted. Everything he touched became gold. Soon he started starving because he couldn't eat anything since they all turned into gold. When he realized the peril of his wish, he begged Dionysus to reverse the spell. The god relented and told Midas to plunge his hands into the river Pactolus.
Another famous King in the Bible whose desires led to his misery and fall is King Solomon. Solomon's case is a proof that wealth and abundance is not a guarantee that one would become ultimately fulfilled.
We all want to be prosperous, and that is good. The world, has in a subtle way, sold us the “abundance” mentality. But does prosperity necessarily mean abundance? See Psalm 1, 3John 1:2, Joshua 1:8, Psalm 35:27.
What does it mean to prosper? It means to be successful, to thrive, to grow or increase.
This has more to do with what we do rather than what we have. I believe God wants us to thrive, grow, increase and be successful in our endeavors. Sometimes, these successes come with some material benefits or increase which we are to enjoy without being necessarily attached to them.
No matter how smart, resourceful and hardworking we are, we are not able to perfectly handle abundance. There is a weakness in us with regards to material possessions. We may soon slide into haughtiness and self glory.
I am not saying we shouldn't desire or acquire wealth or material possessions. I mean who wouldn't want to be wealthy and live comfortably in this world?
But if we meditate on these Bible verses, we might see material possessions from God's perspective.
Don’t make your living by extortion
or put your hope in stealing.
And if your wealth increases,
don’t make it the center of your life.
(Psalms 62:10)
Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich.
Be wise enough to know when to quit.
In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle. (Proverbs 23:4-5)
Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! (Ecclesiastes 5:10)
Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” (Luke 12:15)
Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.
After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it.
So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:6-10)
Unless you find purpose and meaning in the seemingly little you think you have, you will not enjoy it as much as you were supposed to. The underlying factor is lack of gratitude. Only those who are grateful find meaning and contentment in what they have whether plenty or small.
No matter what you have, God wants you to enjoy it.
So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can.
And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13)
If you constantly think you don't have much or you're not making enough money, you will sink into despair and depression. The exact dark place Satan wants you to be.
Christ has overcome the world for us. Cheer up. Enjoy his blessings.
(All scriptures are taken from New Living Translation (NLT) )