Prosperity & Stewardship

¹¹Be careful not to forget the LORD your God by failing to keep His commandments and ordinances and statutes, which I am giving you this day. ¹²Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses in which to dwell, ¹³and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all that you have is multiplied, ¹⁴then your heart will become proud, and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ¹⁵He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint. ¹⁶He fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers had not known, in order to humble you and test you, so that in the end He might cause you to prosper. ¹⁷You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.” ¹⁸But remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers even to this day.

⁷Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go. ⁸This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do. ⁹Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

¹Hallelujah! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments. ²His descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. ³Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. ⁴Light dawns in the darkness for the upright—for the gracious, compassionate, and righteous. ⁵It is well with the man who is generous and lends freely, whose affairs are guided by justice. ⁶Surely he will never be shaken; the righteous man will be remembered forever. ⁷He does not fear bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. ⁸His heart is assured; he does not fear, until he looks in triumph on his foes. ⁹He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.

²⁴One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor. ²⁵A generous soul will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

⁶Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ⁹As it is written: “He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” ¹⁰Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹You will be enriched in every way to be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will produce thanksgiving to God.

⁶Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷For we brought nothing into the world, so we cannot carry anything out of it. ⁸But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. ⁹Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. ¹¹But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. ¹²Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession before many witnesses. ¹³I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who made the good confession in His testimony before Pontius Pilate: ¹⁴Keep this commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵which the blessed and only Sovereign One—the King of kings and Lord of lords—will bring about in His own time. ¹⁶He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. ¹⁷Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy. ¹⁸Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share, ¹⁹treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

¹Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. ²But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. ³He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.

³Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. ⁴Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. ⁵Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it. ⁶He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn, your justice like the noonday sun. ⁷Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.

⁹You attend to the earth and water it; with abundance You enrich it. The streams of God are full of water, for You prepare our grain by providing for the earth. ¹⁰You soak its furrows and level its ridges; You soften it with showers and bless its growth. ¹¹You crown the year with Your bounty, and Your paths overflow with plenty. ¹²The pastures of the wilderness overflow; the hills are robed with joy. ¹³The pastures are clothed with flocks, and the valleys are decked with grain. They shout in triumph; indeed, they sing.

¹For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Psalm. A song. May God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, Selah ²that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. ³Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. ⁴Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You judge the peoples justly and lead the nations of the earth. Selah ⁵Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. ⁶The earth has yielded its harvest; God, our God, blesses us. ⁷God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

¹³He will bless those who fear the LORD—small and great alike. ¹⁴May the LORD give you increase, both you and your children. ¹⁵May you be blessed by the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. ¹⁶The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth He has given to mankind.

¹A song of ascents. Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in His ways! ²For when you eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours. ³Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table. ⁴In this way indeed shall blessing come to the man who fears the LORD. ⁵May the LORD bless you from Zion, that you may see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life, ⁶that you may see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. ⁷Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. ⁸This will bring healing to your body and refreshment to your bones. ⁹Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops; ¹⁰then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

⁴Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. ²²The blessing of the LORD enriches, and He adds no sorrow to it.

¹¹Dishonest wealth will dwindle, but what is earned through hard work will be multiplied.

²³There is profit in all labor, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

⁵The plans of the diligent bring plenty, as surely as haste leads to poverty.

⁴The rewards of humility and the fear of the LORD are wealth and honor and life. ⁹A generous man will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.

¹⁹The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty. ²⁰A faithful man will abound with blessings, but one eager to be rich will not go unpunished.

⁷Two things I ask of You—do not refuse me before I die: ⁸Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion. ⁹Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.

¹⁸Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot. ¹⁹Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God. ²⁰For a man seldom considers the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

¹⁹Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ²²The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. ²³But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! ²⁴No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. ²⁵Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ²⁸And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. ³⁰If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

¹³Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴But Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed Me judge or executor between you?” ¹⁵And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance. ¹⁷So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ ²⁰But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’ ²¹This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.” ²²Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. ²³For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. ²⁴Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds! ²⁵Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ²⁶So if you cannot do such a small thing, why do you worry about the rest? ²⁷Consider how the lilies grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. ²⁸If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith! ²⁹And do not be concerned about what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about it. ³⁰For the Gentiles of the world strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added unto you. ³²Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. ³³Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. ¹⁰And this is my opinion about what is helpful for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give, but even to have such a desire. ¹¹Now finish the work, so that you may complete it with the same eager desire, according to your means. ¹²For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. ¹³It is not our intention that others may be relieved while you are burdened, but that there may be equality. ¹⁴At the present time, your surplus will meet their need, so that in turn their surplus will meet your need. This way there will be equality. ¹⁵As it is written: “He who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no shortfall.”

¹⁰Now I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances. ¹²I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. In any and every situation I have learned the secret of being filled and being hungry, of having plenty and having need. ¹³I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. ¹⁴Nevertheless, you have done well to share in my affliction. ¹⁵And as you Philippians know, in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church but you partnered with me in the matter of giving and receiving. ¹⁶For even while I was in Thessalonica, you provided for my needs again and again. ¹⁷Not that I am seeking a gift, but I am looking for the fruit that may be credited to your account. ¹⁸I have all I need and more, now that I have received your gifts from Epaphroditus. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. ¹⁹And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.