What are some of the potential dangers of prosperity? - Prosperity - TouchPoints

Deuteronomy 6:10-12“The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.

…taking God’s amazing provision for granted.

Deuteronomy 8:11-14, 18But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and laws. Deuteronomy 31:20 . . . For I will bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey. There they will become prosperous; they will eat all the food they want and become well nourished. Then they will begin to worship other gods; they will despise me and break my covenant.

Deuteronomy 32:15But Israel soon became fat and unruly; the people grew heavy, plump, and stuffed! Then they abandoned the God who had made them; they made light of the Rock of their salvation.

…developing pride of accomplishment without giving God credit or humbly obeying him.

Psalm 62:10Don’t try to get rich by extortion or robbery. And if your wealth increases, don’t make it the center of your life.

Hosea 13:5-6I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. But when you had eaten and were satisfied, then you became proud and forgot me.

Proverbs 30:8-9First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

…forgetting God and ignoring his obvious role in making prosperity possible.

Psalm 10:4-6The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead. Yet they succeed in everything they do. They do not see your punishment awaiting them. They sneer at all their enemies. They think, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us! We will be free of trouble forever!”

Jeremiah 49:4You are proud of your fertile valleys, but they will soon be ruined. You rebellious daughter, you trusted in your wealth and thought no one could ever harm you.

Psalm 52:7“Look what happens to mighty warriors who do not trust in God. They trust their wealth instead and grow more and more bold in their wickedness.”

Jeremiah 48:7Because you have trusted in your wealth and skill, you will be taken captive. Your god Chemosh, with his priests and princes, will be exiled to distant lands!

Proverbs 11:28Trust in your money and down you go! But the godly flourish like leaves in spring.

…being prideful; trusting in our own abilities or resources rather than God. Forgetting how easily earthly riches and positions can disappear.

Mark 10:22-25At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

Revelation 3:17You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

…being spiritually blind or complacent, unable to disconnect our hearts from the things of this world.

1 Timothy 6:9-10But 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 at the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

…being tempted and even trapped into a greedy cycle of grasping and wanting more.

Luke 12:15¹⁵ Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

Luke 12:15 . . Then he said, “Beware! Don’t be greedy for what you don’t have. Real life is not measured by how much we own.”Then he said, "Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own."

…placing value on inappropriate things (using the wrong measuring stick)

Mark 4:19but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for nice things, so no crop is produced.

…using your money to pursue only futile things while neglecting eternal values.

Proverbs 23:4-5Don’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.

Don’t weary yourself trying to get rich. Why waste your time? For riches can disappear as though they had the wings of a bird!

Ecclesiastes 5:13-14There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children.

1 Timothy 6:7After all, we didn’t bring anything with us when we came into the world, and we certainly cannot carry anything with us when we die.

…accepting the temporary nature of prosperity as a permanent lifestyle choice

Ecclesiastes 5:10Those who love money will never have enough. How absurd to think that wealth brings true happiness!

Hebrews 13:5Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never forsake you.”

…pursuing greed and dissatisfaction, because wealth often makes us only want more instead of choosing contentment.