Most of us who consider ourselves to belong to the holiness movement grew up thinking that poverty was a great benefactor to holiness.

Some of us were taught that to be holy you had to be poor. I have said, jokingly, that I must have been the holiest person in the church I attended because I was the poorest.

What about all this teaching on prosperity? Has it gone too far, or gotten out of hand? The answer to this question must surely be "Yes" in many instances. However, I am personally thankful for the emphasis that has been put on prosperity, because it has changed my whole life.

I had personally resisted the prosperity doctrine, feeling that it surely must be evil.

As I searched the scriptures in both Old and New Testaments, I was amazed to discover how much God's Word has to say about money.

Jesus taught more about money than He did about heaven or hell. In one place He taught that we could not be trusted with spiritual treasures if we could not learn how to handle money.

If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, (material wealth) who will commit to your trust the true riches? Luke 16:11

The honest person, wanting to please God, will always surrender his prejudices to the Word of God.

Does God want us to prosper? The answer to this has to be a resounding "Yes!" I can find no other answer than this in the Old or New Testament.

We see prosperity from the time God gave everything to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden (Genesis 1:28, 29), on up to Abraham, to whom He promised that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). It goes on and on through the Bible, until even Peter was promised that those who forsook all would be greatly rewarded (Matthew 19:27-30, Mark 10:28-31, Luke 18:28-30).

Why then the fear of prosperity? I remember listening one day to the worries of the wife of a Bible college professor. What was she worried about? For the first time in their life they had some extra money in the bank, and she felt guilty. And no wonder. Many have either departed from the faith or cooled off spiritually when their financial situation was improved.

Let us establish a truth here that can greatly benefit us. Money, or prosperity, will not cause a person to backslide. Lack of character will. One reason many who prosper backslide is the lack of proper teaching about prosperity.

Let me give you some scripture references that will show you that God wants you to prosper. I urge you to read the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy. The first fourteen verses are a command to obedience. The promise of prosperity is to the obedient.

The next 54 verses tell of the lack of prosperity and the judgment of God upon the disobedient.

A powerful portion of scripture is found in Deuteronomy 30.

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: Deuteronomy 30:15-16, 19

The choice is ours. We can live for God and be blessed, or we can live for ourselves and the devil and be cursed.

I will give you just a few of the many scripture references dealing with prosperity.

Joshua 1:8; II Chronicles 20:20; Psalms 1:1-3; 34:7-10; 35:27; 37:3,4,25; 84:11; 105: 37; Proverbs 3:9,10; 10:3-5; 13:7; 28:27; Ecclesiastes 5:19; Isaiah 1:19; Malachi 3:10,11; Luke 6:38; II Corinthians 9:6-9; Ephesians 4:28; I Thessalonians 4:11,12; III John 2-4

There are many other references, but these will get you started in the right way.

Why does God want you to prosper? Actually, there are three reasons.

...For it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant... Deuteronomy 8:18

The first and foremost reason for prosperity is that God's people will have money to do His work. His covenant is established, or built-up with money. That's hard for many people to accept, but it is true. People may say something is built by faith, but unless that faith can be turned into dollars, pesos, shillings, etc., the work of God will not go on. We are in the new covenant or New Testament now and it still takes money to build God's kingdom. There are no free lunches. Everything that's done involves money at some level.

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. 2 Corinthians 9:8-9

Please notice in the preceding verse that giving is a part of righteousness, and the next verse tells us that more giving increases the fruits of righteousness. (II Corinthians 9:10)

Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Ephesians 4:28

He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again. Proverbs 19:17

God rejoices when His children are blessed.

And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: Deuteronomy 30:9

...Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. Psalm 35:27

...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10

After we have paid God the tithes, given a generous offering, and helped the poor, we are privileged to enjoy the leftover blessings of God. I might remind you here, that even in enjoying the blessings of God that are left over, we are still responsible to be good stewards.

God's plan is so great! I often say to those who believe in poverty, "Give me all your money, then we will both be happy. You will be poor and I will be blessed."

Poverty is a curse! Money is not the root of all evil; the love of money is! (I Timothy 6:10)

After preaching on tithing at Kitale, Kenya, East Africa, I felt led to pray for all those who had pledged to pay God the tithe. My prayers took a completely unexpected turn when the Holy Spirit led me to rebuke the spirit of poverty. Many people cried out as their oppression left them.

So much can, and needs to be said concerning holiness and prosperity. I would urge you to study carefully the parable of the unjust steward. Compare Luke 16:9-13 with I Timothy 6:17-19. You cannot serve God and mammon, but you can serve God with mammon. In fact, those you win to Christ through your giving may be waiting in Heaven to thank you and to welcome you into everlasting habitations.

To get into the position to be blessed, I would urge you, as I have in preceding chapters, to be faithful in your tithing, and also to be faithful in your giving. I would add this advice. Pay your bills, and pay them on time. Why should God cause us to prosper when we will not even pay those to whom we owe money?

Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. 2 Corinthians 8:21

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. Proverbs 3:27-28

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8

The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth. Psalm 37:21

The cause of holiness has suffered greatly from those who profess holiness, and do not pay their bills.

It would also be good for you to get into the habit of paying yourself. Most Americans start earning money in some amount by the time they are age 15, then, fifty years later when they have reached the retirement age of 65, they realize they have saved nothing, and are now totally dependent upon the government and others to support them.

If a man would begin saving when he is 22 years old, putting away $2,000.00 each year for six years in an IRA account bearing 12% interest, and would leave that money alone until he was 65 years old, that account would grow to a total of $1,348,440.00. And remember he would have put his last $2,000.00 in the account when he was only 27 years old. Some may question why I have used this example.

Not only is it a poor testimony for God's people to be broke after all of their years of work, but it stands to reason that they will be able to invest very little in their latter years in the kingdom of God.

But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant... Deuteronomy 8:18

May I remind you once again, it is not prosperity that causes people to backslide, it is lack of character.