BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

There’s no downside to that way of prospering like there is to the world’s way. When people get wealthy the world’s way, they end up like the rich man in Luke 12. Remember him? He amassed a great fortune by his own fleshly efforts. Then he stored it up, fully intending to spend it on himself. But because he never paid any attention to God, in the end his wealth didn’t do him any good. He wound up dying before he could enjoy it. (See verses 16-20.) That’s not an example we want to follow. Jesus said people who lay up treasure for themselves but are not rich toward God are fools! Their bank account gets fat but in the end their soul ends up starving. The only answer they have is money and it won’t get them into heaven. It won’t heal them of a terminal disease. It won’t break the power of the addictions that have enslaved them. When you seek God first, however, you prosper “as your soul prospers.” You increase financially as “you walk in the truth” (3 John 2-3, "New King James Version"), and the truth makes you free (John 8:32). What exactly does it mean to walk in the truth? It means you live a godly life: You make God’s Word your final authority and do whatever He says to do. It means you keep His Word in your heart and in your mouth. You believe and say what He says about you. When you’re facing financial difficulties, you don’t go around talking poverty and lack. You don’t say things like, “I just don’t see how I’m going to pay all these bills.” You put your faith in scriptures like Philippians 4:19 and say, “My God shall supply all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!” When you’re walking in truth you also put God first in your finances. You make tithing a priority. You give cheerfully to others whenever the Lord leads, confident that the Lord will BLESS you in return because, as Galatians 6:7 says, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” A Precious Possession “But Gloria,” you might say, “I do all those things. I spend time in the Word every day. I believe and confess the Word over my finances. I tithe and give. Yet I’m still not prospering and increasing!” Then maybe you need to check up on yourself in another area. Maybe you need to see how you’re doing when it comes to being diligent. Diligence is another one of God’s foundational laws of abundance. It’s defined as “steady application to business of any kind; constant effort to accomplish what is undertaken.” Diligence is perseverance. It’s doing wholeheartedly whatever job you’ve been given to do. It’s part of what causes you to prosper. You might not hear as many sermons about diligence as you do about other things, but God tells us time and again in the Scriptures how valuable it is. In Proverbs, for instance, He says: “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich” (Proverbs 10:4). “The hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be put to forced labor” (Proverbs 12:24, "NKJV"). “Diligence is man's precious possession” (Proverbs 12:27, "NKJV"). “The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich” (Proverbs 13:4, "NKJV"). “The [sluggard] will not plow because of winter; He will beg during harvest and have nothing.... [but] the plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty” (Proverbs 20:4, 21:5, "NKJV"). "How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man” (Proverbs 6:9-11). This is just the way it is in God’s family: Sluggards don’t do well. People who sleep late every morning and spend their days lazing around don’t prosper. God isn’t like the government. He doesn’t have programs that pay people for not working. In His system, if you want to prosper you’re expected to work and be productive. Whether you’re a full-time mother and homemaker, a student, a business owner or an employee, you’re expected to give it your best effort and do a good job. What if you have a job you don’t like, or you have one that doesn’t pay very well? Be diligent anyway! Believe God for a better job if you want, but in the meantime treat the one you have with respect. Don’t just do as little work as you can without getting fired. Be the best employee that company ever had. Show up at work every day with a smile on your face and do everything you can to be a blessing in that place. “But you don’t understand. My job is just menial. It isn’t very important.” Yes, it is! For one thing, it provides you with an income to tithe on and the ability to sow into the kingdom of God. It gives you the opportunity to go to work every day thinking, I’m doing this as unto the Lord, and I’m getting seed for a harvest out of it. * * * * article continues on p. 30 * * * * * BVOV : 29

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