If success were to come your way, what would it do to you? God doesn’t want us to have success that will crush, hurt, or destroy us. You see, money is an amplifier; it amplifies what you already are. If there’s sin in your life, more money will amplify it; it will increase your ability to overindulge more in that sin. God has no problem with you having money, but He doesn’t want money to have you. If Jesus is not at the center of your prosperity, sudden wealth can destroy your life. The key to prosperity and success is a relationship with Christ. When the Lord is with you, you are truly successful.
Look at the life of Joseph. The Lord was with Joseph, and Joseph was a prosperous man (Genesis 39:2). He was successful and prosperous in Potiphar’s house (Genesis 39:2-5). God was with Joseph, and he prospered in jail (Genesis 39:23). God prospered him in king Pharoah’s house. His favor on Joseph was so evident that Pharoah put him in charge of his entire household and made him governor of Egypt (Genesis 41:40, 41).
If Christ is not the center of your prosperity, you’re going to pursue money just like the world does. You’re going to think that whatever can put more money in your pocket is worth doing, even if it’s immoral. You’ll fall for any gimmick or scheme. You’ll do almost anything, if you think it’ll bring more money to you. Ladies and gentlemen, we have to be God seekers, not money seekers.
You’ve heard people say things like, “Money is the root of all evil.” Well, money is not the root of all evil. First Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” The love of money means being obsessed with getting more money; it’s a wrong relationship with money, a wrong pursuit of money; you pursue money more than you pursue God. When you have a wrong relationship with money, you’re capable of doing every evil thing.
What’s also evil is not having enough money to meet your financial obligations: You get put out of your house because you can’t pay your rent or mortgage. Or, you don’t have enough money to pay your water, light, or gas bills, and your utilities get cut off; that’s an evil thing! That is not God’s will for His children.
Jesus bore our sicknesses and our diseases on the cross so that by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). He also bore the curse of poverty on the cross (2 Corinthians 8:9). Look at the great exchange; He took our sins, sicknesses, diseases, and the curse of poverty onto Himself. He became everything He didn’t have to become so that we could become everything that He was. And that “everything” includes a prosperous, successful life. This is why Jesus—not the pursuit of money—has to be the center of your prosperity. If you take Him out of the center, you’ve unplugged the very source, and resource, that is necessary for you to walk in a life of prosperity and success.
So, how much investment are you placing in your personal relationship with Christ? To be safe for success, you have to begin to develop an intense relationship with Him by practicing His presence. Talk to Him. Seek Him about every decision, whether big or small. Pray to Him. Read His Word. Think about Him! When you become a God seeker, He’ll release an abundance of favor that will cause you to prosper and have good success and to be a blessing in someone else’s life.
In my eye-opening series The Covenant of Increase, I teach that God has made a covenant to increase His people financially. This is why God’s presence in your life is what causes you to prosper and succeed. You are what you are because of God’s grace and favor on your life! Jesus Christ—not the pursuit of material things or money—must be at the center of your success. You’re prosperous because of Who is with you…the Lord!
Click here to request your copy of The Covenant of Increase today!
Creflo Dollar
