Godly wisdom brings peace and prosperity. Now while there is much about the "prosperity gospel" that needs to be treated with at least caution, and some with outright rejection, we do need to ensure that we do listen to what Scripture actually says, and it is clear that part of the teaching of the Bible is that a godly life will bring peace and prosperity. This works in both very practical ways and in direct-intervention-by-God ways. This nation would be economically better off if it followed a more godly path, that is a simple fact. If we had not had the greed, foolishness and pride of the financial industry we would not have had the financial crash. If we had better moral standards, with Christian commitment to marriage, with people taking responsibility for their lives and actions, we would be far better off in all sorts of ways. And these things apply to individuals as well. Moreover, God acts directly as well, and we can only be heading for a fall if we continue along our current path.
Love and faithfulness are the essential elements. Contrast this with what the world tells us we need in order to succeed. But even though the world's ways are so much at odds with God's ways, it still recognises true virtue when it sees it.
We are to trust in the Lord with all our heart, not depending on our own understanding. We are to submit our ways to Him, then He will direct us. Now this does not mean we do not use our own understanding, but we use it recognising that:
- We do not and cannot know everything.
- We submit everything to God.
When we do this our own understanding will become truly valuable instead of a snare.
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