Prosperity: "A Key to Wealth"

“… where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that they must enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations.” – Acts 14:22 NLT

What we see here is that the discipleship training given by Paul and Barnabas very specifically included some rather harsh realities that we don’t often hear about in our post modern Christianity. There is no doubt whatsoever that their preaching embraced a message of prosperity and blessing; the difference however, is that their message of prosperity was accurately founded in the context of eternity, opposed to what so many “believers” are being fed these days, “prosperity in the context of birth and death while living on this planet.

Today’s definition of Christian prosperity lands frighteningly close to the adage which proclaims, “He who dies with the most toys wins”, which if we’re honest, we know isn’t true at all. In fact, these two realities of “prosperity” are not even found in the same universe. So that’s probably why Paul and Barnabas were not in the least shy to stress to the new believer’s understanding, “they must enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations.” – Geepers! That doesn’t sound very nice at all. Why did they need to add such unwelcome news to the New Believers Class? Ouch!#@$!&^*! – Why didn’t they just come right out and say, “He who dies with the most toys just might end up loosing and become a likely candidate go to hell”? How’s that for being blunt?

But, let me briefly argue my point. I don’t think that it was so much that Paul and Barnabas were insisting that we must enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations as a result of their own perverted reasons for wanting to see Christians suffer. Golly, that was hardly the case at all. What I suspect they were saying was that not only must we enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations, but that we should actually expect and anticipate tribulation and persecution as a normal and essential component in our journey of faith. – If anyone knew what they were talking about, certainly the Apostle Paul did.

The misnomer is caused as we have redefined the description of prosperity to mean; the condition of being successful or thriving; especially economic well-being; which works fine for those outside of the body of Christ, but creates enormous conflict for those of us trying to live for God. Prosperity defined in Paul and Barnabas’ new believer’s class actually had very little to do with a person’s title on their door, six-digit incomes, multimillion dollar suburban tents with large screen TV's and camels with turbo prop enginess strapped to the rear hump.

The prosperity taught by Paul and Barnabas was about intimacy with God and being aligned with His purposes and will for one’s life… and that included suffering, personal cost and sacrifice (aka: “many tribulations”). What we see in this passage is that Paul and Barnabas correctly taught that “kingdom people” will experience trials, suffering and not always an instant victory. God did not promise a life without struggle. In truth, this text reminds us that victory only comes through battle, and triumph only follows trials.

And “many tribulations” is not because God doesn’t want us to have stuff; Jesus already explained in Matthew 6:32 that God already knows about our need for stuff. But instead, in His sovereign will and wisdom, it has been so appointed that we enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations. The truth be told, there is no remedy for this appointment, the matter is already fixed and cannot be altered. It is a part of God’s sovereign plan that has already determined that for all who would live godly in Christ Jesus, would experience tribulation. But why? Why is that necessary? That’s probably the most essential question to be answered if the church in America has any hope to right its current course of self-absorbed preoccupation with none other than itself.

With the current message of prosperity, what’s being left out is the part about a disciple's responsibility to take up their cross daily. When we signed up to live for Christ these were the terms that we agreed on; when we sat down and counted the cost, it was a part of the deal. The difference is, Paul and Barnabas told their disciples up front about this requirement…. many Christians in the USA have yet to be told that their experience in Christ will by necessity include many tribulations.

And it doesn’t matter what rank you’re entitled to in the body of Christ, it is the reality of both leaders as well as the soldiers in Christ’s army to experience many tribulations in their journey through this earthly life. Paul even reminds us in his letter to the Thessalonians when he wrote: “so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know.” 1 Thessalonians 3:3-4. – And, let us not forget that our own Savior did not expect from the apostles any harder service than what He himself experienced, and neither did the apostles expect from the early believers.

Concerning prosperity, the rest of the story that desperately needs to be told is that it is entirely true that we must count upon many tribulations, with the encouragement that proclaims we will get through it. A balanced view on prosperity will proclaim that our tribulations are a type of Red Sea, and that the Lord will open a way through it, for us to pass over.

Prosperity in the context of eternity allows for Christians to go down into trouble, but because of our God, we will come up again. We shall not only get through it, but get through it into the kingdom of God, which is of a much higher priority and value than merely being blessed in the abundance of material stuff, safety and comfort. – The truth is “many tribulations” have more to do with the reshaping and redefining of our character which determines the outcomes of our eternity. – I think from an eternal perspective, God actually knows what He’s doing by allowing us to experience “many tribulations”. Isn’t it about time we adjust our program to His?