The Misunderstood Prosperity

The Misunderstood Prosperity

By Apostle Felix

26  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 

Genesis 1: 25 – 27

Prosperity is one of the subjects that has brought so much division in the body of Christ. This is due to different views held by different denominations and ministries. Unfortunately, most of the ministries in Africa have been founded on the prosperity message. Should the church preach and teach  financial prosperity? Certainly, yes. God desires that His children prosper. Prosperity has been God’s initial plan from the beginning. And He has not changed His mind regarding His initial plan. However, prosperity is for humanity. It is not exclusive to the church. The context of our discussion is financial success today. There has been a lot of misunderstanding around financial success, especially in the church. Many church folks think financial success is a product of born again experience.

17  And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. 

Genesis 4: 17

Cain can be regarded as the world that has willingly and consciously rejected God. Cain went away from God, not only physically but also spiritually. But yet, he built a city where he had settled. No poor man could build a city. He was a man of great wealth and great mental capacity. Cain’s posterity was industrious, innovative and creative. They came up with a number of inventions, while Seth, who born of Adam and Eve after, were lurking behind in innovation. Cain had success. Why? He was an observer and implementer of natural endowments deposited in man by the Creator. Success is for humanity. It is not christian.

10  And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land. 

Genesis 12: 10

Egypt was affluent and civilized than most of the known world of Abraham’s time. When there was famine in the land where Abraham lived, Egypt had abundance. Abraham sought refuge in Egypt and he left Egypt richer than he went. Egypt was not a God fearing nation, it was a pagan nation that worshiped numerous idols. There was something Egypt knew that most of the nations didn’t know. Financial success comes by understanding how world economics work. Moses, whom God used to deliver Israel from the Egyptian bondage, was schooled in the Egyptian schools.

22  And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

Acts 7: 22

Moses was learned in the Egyptian wisdom of governance, economics, architecture and many more. There Stephen said that Moses was mighty in words, but we all know better that Moses was a stammerer. Stephen referred to the knowledge Moses had acquired in Egyptian schools and was able to implement it. Financial acumen can be acquired in schools we regard as secular. The church’s approach to financial success is very narrow and shallow. The emphasis is more on giving to prosper.  Giving is a powerful spiritual virtue but it is not what makes one to have financial success. In order to experience financial success in Africa, the church should be wise enough to employ Moses’ strategy. The church should be encouraging its membership to learn from nations that have had financial success, such Singapore, Japan, China, and many others. Financial success is a product of innovation and creativity. Most of the billionaires around are innovators. They have produced products in the tech world, medical world, fashion world, and many other worlds. The western and eastern worlds are leading the world today because of their ability to turn raw materials into finished products. We are living in the IT world and most of our members in churches are studying IT, engineering etc. Let us be there to encourage them to become innovators, than just telling them that God will prosper them as long as they commit to giving. We need to see billionaires in the body of Christ. If we can have young people that are coming up with innovative ideas in the tech and engineering world, the church can earn respect in the world. The church can have billionaires. We just need strategy and move from the tradition way of doing things. Money is a product of innovation.