"Living Prosperously"

"The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and Thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies." (Psalms 41:2) Who doesn't want to have a blessed life? And yet, we miss some of the blessings by not actually sharing that which we have been given. Some of the most prosperous people I know, are also some of the most giving people; not because they need to give, but because they love to give; giving is part of the joy that comes with having wealth. Actually, wealth can be measured on several different levels; if you have abundant riches, but you are miserable, then I would say you are really not very wealthy at all; or if you have tons of stuff, but you have no one to share that stuff with, then I would count that as a huge misfortune. For me, living prosperously includes more than just myself; I could be happy with a nap-sack and a journey, if that is what I could afford to do, but I have many obligations that do not afford me the liberty to just do what ever it is that I want to do; so instead, I just try to share what God has blessed me with, because I will surely not be taking it with me when I go. To be blessed requires a certain area of happiness to be part of the experience; you really cannot say that you are blessed if you feel as though you want to roll up into a ball and die; yet, how many believers do you see walking around as if they have been kicked in the stomach, because others might have more than they have, or because they do not realize the abundance of wealth at their disposal? Do you notice how these next two verses are structured? as David speaks of a truth, and then he expresses that truth back to God. Is this not the way we should relate any of God's truths to our lives? as we acknowledge God's truth or promises, and then we use that promise to reflect upon how it will work upon our lives... "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." (James 2:14-17)