“Honor Yahweh with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.” (Proverbs 3.9-10)
“Do you want your needs met? Do you want to be wealthy? God is calling you to plant a seed of faith of one hundred, two hundred, or one thousand dollars in this ministry. The return you receive depends on how many seeds you plant.” If we haven’t heard it directly, many of us are familiar with the message of the prosperity gospel hucksters who siphon off money from the desperate and gullible. We dismiss these charlatans with disdainful laughter because we know that God and his world are not a divinely rigged slot machine that produces a fortune every time the handle is pulled or the button pushed. (Sorry, I’m a little unfamiliar with slot machines.)
But then we come across promises such as the one in Proverbs 3.9-10, and we pause, at least for a minute, because, on the surface, it looks as if validity is given to the theology of the Kenneth Copland’s and Creflo Dollar’s of the world. We know that these scam preachers can’t be right because, well, Job suffered the loss of everything and Jesus became poor (cf. 2Cor 8.9). We have to work this out. Proverbs promises too much. There must be an explanation. Here it is: Proverbs’ promises are generalities and probabilities. Generally, if you live in a Western, capitalistic society, then, sometimes, when you work hard and tithe, you will become wealthy. But if you live in China or North Korea, then these promises don’t apply.
That just won’t do. We are supposed to be faithful in honoring the Lord with the firstfruits–the tithe–but then he may or may not make good on his promises? God is capricious in fulfilling his promises? We know that’s not right.
So how do we explain this in light of the rest of Scripture and lived experiences of the faithful not having “full barns and wine vats overflowing?” A simplistic reading of Proverbial promises is the problem. Solomon is not short-sighted. Wealth promised to the wise is not always immediate (that is, put your money in the slot machine and hit the jackpot), but it is certain. The gospel is ultimately a prosperity gospel.
Wealth for Solomon, though including material possessions and money, is not limited to them. Godly children, peace that comes through well-ordered relationships (see 15.17), a good name (22.1), and wisdom can all be better than silver and gold. True wealth is that which lasts. There are riches that sprout wings and fly away (23.4-5). There is an inheritance from God for the wise that will not fade away. That inheritance doesn’t always show up on the ledger in the short run, but it’s coming. What’s more, it includes everything that makes one wealthy, not only possessions but possessions are a part. Like Job who was rewarded with double of all he had at the end of his suffering and like Jesus who inherited the nations after he endured the cross, so we too will inherit the wealth of creation.
Don’t be short-sighted, especially as you see the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding (3.5). Though the evil man has great possessions now, he has no future (24.20), but the wise man does (23.18; 24.14). Payday is coming, but it just might not be this Friday.
