By Cyndi
Remember Mr. Spock from Star Trek? He would do that Vulcan hand gesture and say, “Live long and prosper.” But what is prosperity anyway? Is it security? Is it having lots of money?
Well, when we are prospering, we do have a sense of security in that we usually are not worried about paying bills, losing our house, paying for college, or our retirement. We have a type of external security-but it can be a false sense of security, thinking that whatever problem comes up, we can solve it with money. But what if our health fails or we lose a loved one? No amount of money can change that. Yes, wealth can make our life easier and more comfortable-we can fly all over the world getting the best treatments and medications-but we, ourselves, are not in control. We have lost our sense of security.
I’ve been thinking about prosperity in the internal sense though. (Perhaps this is even what Mr. Spock meant.) I may not be prospering monetarily, but my self-confidence is growing, my knowledge is growing, and I’m becoming more secure in who I am as a person and who God made me to be. For example, I used to be quite fearful about using computers. I was totally insecure that my teenage son knew bookoos more than I did about the computer. After praying about my fears and spending more and more time actually working on the computer, my knowledge has multiplied tremendously over the last year. I am now prospering in this area. I went from a place of fear to a greater self-confidence in my knowledge, and now I’m not as insecure anymore. This is a type of inner prosperity the Lord wants us all to grow in every day.
Of course, there are many forms prosperity, or security, can take, but my point for this article is to show that it does not have to be just in monetary ways. In Psalm 1, the first few verses tell of the person who seeks the Lord and desires to live in a godly way. This person, the Lord says, shall prosper and live well. Hmm…I wonder. Did Mr. Spock ever read the Bible?
Great insight, Cyndi. Everybody automatically links prosperity with money. Prospertiy has a far broader meaning than just monetary…but it certainly does not exclude money either. Excellent message. It’s been great to watch you two blossom in your use of the computer and the Internet. Hallelujah!!!