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.”

It is very easy to take God’s amazing provisions for granted and to start believing we have earned our wealth on our own.

Deuteronomy 8:11-14, 18“Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. . . . Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.”

Deuteronomy 31:20“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, eat all the food they want, and become fat. But they will begin to worship other gods; they will despise me and break my covenant.”

Deuteronomy 32:15“But 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.”

It’s easy to become proud of what we perceive to be our accomplishments. When this happens, we are failing to recognize that everything we have comes from God, and that he deserves our credit and our humble obedience.

Psalm 62:10Don’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.

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.

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

It’s easy to forget about God and ignore his obvious role in making our 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!”

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.”

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

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

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

It’s so easy to become prideful, trusting in our own abilities or resources rather than in God. We easily forget 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 3:17“You 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.”

It’s easy to become spiritually blind or complacent. We become unable to disconnect our hearts from the things of this world.

1 Timothy 6:9-10People 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.

It’s easy to be tempted and even trapped into a greedy cycle of grasping and wanting more. The pleasures readily available to those with wealth can be addictive.

Luke 12:15Then he [Jesus] said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

It is easy to place value on inappropriate things and to use the wrong measuring stick for deciding what is most important.

Mark 4:19“But all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.”

It is easy to use our money to pursue only futile things while neglecting what is eternal.

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.

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 brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it.

It’s easy to begin to believe that prosperity, which is only temporary, is a permanent lifestyle choice. Pursuing eternal realities is the only dependable foundation for our lives.

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

Hebrews 13:5Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”

It’s natural for us to become caught up in greed and to become quickly dissatisfied with what we have. Wealth is always calling us to desire more; it never allows us to choose contentment.