SEEKING PROSPERITY (15 OF 52)
Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11
This content is part of a series.
Seeking Prosperity (15 of 52)
Series: Descipleship
Christopher B. Harbin
Philippians 2:1-11
Prosperity is something we hear talked about by politicians, economists, business professionals, and preachers. We see books and articles revealing secretes to success, all of which are geared to increase our incomes and further the cause of amassing more wealth.
We are inundated with messages about prosperity. We are encouraged to believe that the most important question we face has to do with income or wealth. It is promoted as the ''bottom line'' in all business concerns. It is touted as the main focus for government policies. It is at the heart of the ''American Dream'' and the focus of so many books and the sermons of prosperity theology preachers. We measure the success of churches by their budgets, buildings, and other material measures of wealth and popularity. Along the way, we often miss the fact that these are not God's main concerns.
That is not to say the Bible does not speak to issues of wealth, economics, and prosperity. In fact, its pages are replete with comments about economics, so much so we might consider economics as a major theme throughout the Bible. Reality, however, is that its focus on economics is not the prosperity of individuals. The Bible's economic concerns focus instead on the poor, desperate, neglected, and powerless against the market forces that surround them. Rather than our common self-interested concern with wealth, the Bible is concerned with meeting the needs of others, with special interest in the ones we most often neglect.
Amid the constant streams of prayers for blessings of fertility for crops and herds, the consistent reminder we find in the mouths of God's prophets is that there is enough to meet the needs of all. Israel was to assume responsibility to ensure there were no poor in their midst. That is a far cry from the emphases we so often hear. Then we come to the actual lives of the prophets, Jesus, and the d ...
Series: Descipleship
Christopher B. Harbin
Philippians 2:1-11
Prosperity is something we hear talked about by politicians, economists, business professionals, and preachers. We see books and articles revealing secretes to success, all of which are geared to increase our incomes and further the cause of amassing more wealth.
We are inundated with messages about prosperity. We are encouraged to believe that the most important question we face has to do with income or wealth. It is promoted as the ''bottom line'' in all business concerns. It is touted as the main focus for government policies. It is at the heart of the ''American Dream'' and the focus of so many books and the sermons of prosperity theology preachers. We measure the success of churches by their budgets, buildings, and other material measures of wealth and popularity. Along the way, we often miss the fact that these are not God's main concerns.
That is not to say the Bible does not speak to issues of wealth, economics, and prosperity. In fact, its pages are replete with comments about economics, so much so we might consider economics as a major theme throughout the Bible. Reality, however, is that its focus on economics is not the prosperity of individuals. The Bible's economic concerns focus instead on the poor, desperate, neglected, and powerless against the market forces that surround them. Rather than our common self-interested concern with wealth, the Bible is concerned with meeting the needs of others, with special interest in the ones we most often neglect.
Amid the constant streams of prayers for blessings of fertility for crops and herds, the consistent reminder we find in the mouths of God's prophets is that there is enough to meet the needs of all. Israel was to assume responsibility to ensure there were no poor in their midst. That is a far cry from the emphases we so often hear. Then we come to the actual lives of the prophets, Jesus, and the d ...
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