1. The first law of prosperity is to believe that it is God’s will for you to prosper and that you are in his will.
Contrary to common opinion, God wants you to be prosperous. If this is a fact, and it is, then God will see to it that you are prosperous if you will learn the laws of prosperity and co-operate with them and with God in all things. Why should it be God’s will for you to lack the things you need in life if you are His child, and then give them to those who rebel against Him? This does not make sense, and until Christians wake up and believe the whole Bible and demand that their leaders teach the whole truth or quit, we will never see prosperity, happiness, and success among all Christians as they should be.
God has created in the world an abundance of everything that man needs, and there is enough for all. He laid down certain laws of life and of prosperity, and all He asks from us is that we obey these laws. These laws are plainly revealed in the Bible, and they are given for all men to follow. Those who follow them will surely reap the benefits promised to all alike. As we have seen in Lesson Ten, God’s providence is over all His creation, and He has given abundant promises for all the needs of man. One cannot read all the many promises listed in Lesson Ten, Point III, without being convinced that it is the highest will of God to bless His children with prosperity and all they need and want in life here and now. Let it be firmly settled that you are in harmony with the will of God when you desire to prosper and be in health and have victory over sin and failure in life.
2. The second law of prosperity to follow is to make God your partner in life.
Work with Him and obey His own laws of prosperity. Make Him the Senior Partner in your business. Give him the seat at the head of the table in all your business conferences. Recognize Him in all that you do. Keep in touch with Him concerning His guidance in every business deal. Recognize His presence with you always. Talk to Him about your problems as you would talk to your best friend. Turn all your problems over to Him. Don’t make a move without feeling sure that it is the will of God and for the best interest of all concerned.
If you will give all your hard problems to God to solve; if you will simply stop fretting and worrying over them and trust God with all your heart to work things out to His glory and your good, He will do it. After turning things over to God, don’t interfere and spoil things. Stay out of them until God works them out. Don’t be impatient and unbelieving. If God is your Senior Partner and if He is running your business, trust Him, for no one could operate it better. Since you believe that God can handle all your problems better than you can, let Him do it. He will remove all obstacles. He will work for your good. Believe His Word that “all things work together for good to them that love the Lord, to them who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). Since God cannot fail, you cannot fail if you keep all things committed to Him and trust Him to keep you and make you a success in life.
God never meant for His children to become failures, as such failures are a reflection upon Him, just as any failing, sinful, and rebellious child would bring disgrace upon his parents. Do you think God is any different? Do you think He would be glorified by failures on behalf of His children or derive any pleasure from them? Do you think He would desire the worst for His children instead of the best? No! Jesus taught us that God loved us more than we love our children (Mt. 7:7-11). We are the only ones that hold back the floodgates of God’s abundant blessings, and, as long as we believe that God is a hard, unloving Father, we cannot hope to receive these benefits. The truth is that nothing makes God happier than to see His people blessed, happy, and successful in all that they do in life. Let it be remembered that we said His children are not rebels against Him, for they are children of the devil (Jn. 8:44; Eph. 2:1-3; 1 Jn. 3:8-10). Real children of God will not get into any business that is sinful; so we say that any legitimate business and anything that is worthwhile God will prosper in this phase of life.
Making God your partner implies full surrender of your life to Him and obedience to His Word in all things with constant dependence upon God to know His will and His ways, which cause you to prosper. Without God’s approval and help you are already headed for failure, but with Him guiding your every step, you cannot fail. Be sure that your plans, ambitions, and undertakings are all in harmony with the highest will of God and then go ahead, fearing nothing. If you want to overcome the obstacles that have been holding you back, start right now by taking God into your life and obeying Him and He will lead you into prosperity. It is only when you stop trying to do everything on your own and quit leaving Him out of your affairs that you will begin to experience God. It is at this point that His life, His wisdom, and His power will begin to be manifest in your life. Christ came to give life and give it more abundantly, so there is no limitation in God unless you limit Him by your unbelief and failure to appropriate the promised benefits (Jn. 10:10).
3. The third law of prosperity is to get into the lifework that you feel God would have you in or for which you are best suited.
God has a lifework for you, and you can be extremely happy and successful if you find that work and make God your life-long partner. If your lifework is not clear to you, get this settled once and forever. At least you can know what your present work is at all times, and if there comes a time when your work should be changed, you will move in the will of God as you have been doing. As you go along, God will guide you and open up doors of opportunity for you to step into. You are capable of filling your own place in life, and you can do your work better than anyone else can. Put your whole life into your work, realizing it is for God and others that you labor. The thing God considers is whether we work honestly and faithfully at our calling in life. This is all that He asks, and He will reward us accordingly. Real happiness lies in liking what we are called to do, not in doing something solely because we think we would like it. You can be very unhappy if you permit yourself to think that you are in the wrong kind of lifework. Thousands of people are in the right kind of work and are unhappy because they yearn for the wrong kind of work. When plans do not materialize or when doors close to you in one occupation, look to God, who will open doors for you in another.
Become content with your lot in life and make a success of what you are currently doing, and then you will be capable of success in other areas. But if you do not succeed at any one thing and are always dissatisfied with every kind of work, it is not the work that is wrong, it is you. You must get hold of yourself and conquer that shiftless spirit, and God will help you become stable, contented, successful, and happy in His will in any kind of honest work.
Ask God to guide you into your lifework and in His best plan for you. Talk things over with Him and wait for His guidance, which will come in many ways you may not at first understand. If you are in your right work, seek God in order to open up even greater fields of service. If you are in the wrong work, much prayer will open up the right door for you. Be constantly in tune with God and praise Him for His help in life. Thank Him for the work you already have. Act as if God is guiding you. Be happy and contented in your work, and you will be a success.
4. The fourth law of prosperity is faith in God.
You must believe that God loves you and that He is with you, giving you strength to overcome all hindrances to your happiness and success in life. All men who have made a success in life have had to finally overcome all opposition to their progress. The lives of successful people abound in stories of how they overcame obstacles and finally succeeded. These challenges will continue through life even in success and happiness. It is in the struggles of life that you need faith in God. All your obstacles are small and shrink to nothingness when compared to the promises of God and the faith in God that they create.
When your troubles seem like giants, steal away in secret and pray. Get a good night’s rest. Read the promises of God, have faith in Him, and they will become very small. If your problems persist, get your mind off them, turn them over to God and forget them for the time being, and you will find that God will take care of them better than you ever could. We are told to “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass” (Ps. 37:5). This law of success will work without fail because God’s Word cannot fail. The more you do this and the less you think of hindrances in your life, the more you will overcome them.
God is your Father if you have surrendered to Him. He can be trusted. He will keep His promises better than any earthly friend will. Get His promises in you and abide in Him, then “ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (Jn. 15:7). What a blessing to know that God is with you and by faith in Him you can do all things and can get what you want! Your enemies cannot triumph. Your problems cannot defeat you. God cannot fail. The minute you are tempted to worry and fret about some problem, turn it over to God. He can see further than you can; He can work out things that are invisible to you. Throw your worries away and become reckless in faith and confidence in God and accept what comes with peace and thankfulness. “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 Jn. 5:1-4).
5. The fifth law of prosperity is to be unafraid in launching out into new ventures and to make the best of your opportunities that come.
Many men could have been prosperous in life if they had not been afraid to take hold of opportunities that came to them. Have no fear; if you have been praying for things to happen that would cause you to be prosperous, God is sure to open up many doors of opportunity. You must not be afraid to enter them under the guidance of God. Have confidence in yourself and in God that He is leading you and that you cannot fail. In going into new ventures, be led of God as to how far to go and how much to invest. Do not go into debt beyond your ability to pay. Do not become reckless and act unwisely. Be led of God and go as far as you feel He would have you go and as far as common sense dictates. Do not get your eyes on sudden riches and over step yourself. You can always grow, and a steady, healthy growth in business with security is better than blowing a bubble beyond the bursting point. Act sensibly and wisely and you will succeed. Let the law of increase work for you normally. Stay within your ability to take care of business and build on a solid foundation that will last.
6. The sixth law of prosperity is to follow certain business principles taught in scripture.
Paul laid down some business principles when he said, “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality; bless them which persecute you; bless, and curse not; rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep . . . Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men . . . Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom.12:9-21). If one will obey these principles in business he cannot help becoming happy, prosperous, and successful in all that he undertakes.
Paul further taught Christians, “That ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and work with your own hands, as we commanded you: that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing” (1 Thess. 4:11-12). Solomon said, “Seest thou a man diligent in business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean [obscure, or unknown] men” (Prov. 22:29).
These passages teach that a man should be constantly at the job of making a success. Do not let any grass grow under your feet. Use every legitimate means of success and do not neglect one opportunity to reach your goal. This may mean self-sacrifice to begin with. It will mean many hours of hard work. It will mean much prayer to God for guidance. It will mean being honest with all men and living to serve others by your business. Some people do not care to succeed in life enough to obey the laws of prosperity. They are naturally shiftless, careless, indifferent, and unconcerned about their responsibilities. They would not put forth the least effort beyond what they feel like doing in order to succeed. They are like sinners who know they are lost and doomed to Hell and don’t care. Or they are like some sick people who know how to get well but will not put forth the effort to meet the necessary conditions. If sinners cared whether or not they were going to Hell, not one of them would neglect his salvation for one minute. Likewise, some men would succeed in life if they cared to put forth their best effort to make a success. If you do not put forth the proper effort to prosper, do not expect God to bless you with prosperity.
7. The seventh law of prosperity is to obey the golden rule.
This means that you will always do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If you do this you will never take advantage of any man in order to prosper, but will always be fair and square in all of your business dealings, giving your customers value for money received. You will never skimp in making products, or cheat in selling them. You will never misrepresent one item you sell and will never sell a product that you would not use yourself. You will never be dishonest with any man, but will always tell the truth. You will never be selfish. You will always be friendly, courteous, helpful, happy, and committed to serve your fellow man and to please God. You will always let your customers know how you appreciate their business and show them how you seek to be of service to them.
You must be a real human being and make people feel that they would like to be around you. You can be that kind of man or woman. No matter what your age, appearance, education, or position in life, you can be real and attractive in your personality. If you will let Christ live in and through you, He will make you free from all dullness and will fill your life with charm and influence. Power and radiance come from a change of heart and from Christ’s living in you. Regardless of age, one can have charm, attractiveness and influence. These qualities cannot be put on in the beauty parlor. They must come from the inward man. It is all right to be as attractive as you can be outwardly, and this will help you, but let the greatest attraction be “the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price” (1 Pet. 3:1-4).
8. One unfailing law of prosperity is to “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.”
If we do this we are promised, “and all these things [blessings of life] shall be added unto you” (Mt. 6:33). The truth is that this puts the interests of the kingdom of God and of others before our own. In doing this we must recognize that a man’s life does not consist of the abundance of the things he possesses (Lk. 12:15). If we can ever learn this lesson, we can easily be free from covetousness, which makes us live only for self. Jesus said, “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Mt. 10:39). In other words, the man that is self-centered and holds on to those things of life to please and satisfy only himself, will lose the reality of true living and be banished from eternal society where everyone consecrates himself like God, to do those things that are best for all society. But if we will give up our selfish living and seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, we will receive “an hundredfold” in this life and in the life to come, everlasting life. Christ, Himself assures us of this in Mt. 19:27-30.
Giving up self-interests for those of the kingdom of God means consecration to living for the good of all men and the betterment of the society of which we are a part. If everyone would live for the best good of all concerned, we would have a heaven on Earth. Paul said, “For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself . . . For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s” (Rom. 14:7-11).
9. One law of prosperity is that of giving to others.
Generally, the person who goes through life always wanting to know what he is going to get out of everything he does, makes a failure and loses what he already has. He loses his friends and becomes an outcast from society. No one wants to be around him, and he goes through life alone. If one would start out with the idea of giving instead of getting he would succeed. Give service to men in your business and you will prosper. Bless men and seek God and His righteousness, and all the blessings you need in this life will be added unto you. If there is one thing that you can succeed in life doing, it is giving. One can always give, and if he will do this he will have to give. This is a law that never fails. Jesus said, “Give, and it shall be given you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom” (Lk. 6:38). People may temporarily hinder you in making money, but they cannot hinder you from giving. No one wants to hinder you in this phase of life. You become a hero when you give. You are a wonderful person to everybody as long as you have things to give and as long as you are generous to others.
Something wonderful happens when you give to others. Begin by giving yourself to God and to others to serve them. Give your good will, your wishes, your time, your talents, your life, and your all; and you will begin receiving from both God and men whom you bless. Once in a while you may find one who will not give to you in return, but for each one who does not, there will be many who give back to you in appreciation for what you are giving them. You should give your all to the service of God and man, not because you expect something in return, but because you know it is right and because it is your nature, and the giving back to you will be a natural result. You will have many friends who will be pulling for you to succeed in anything you undertake. They will put forth every effort to help you succeed. One will show you how to make more money. Another will cause an open door of blessing here and one there. Others will give you this and that in life that will help you in the time of need.
As you are prospered materially and spiritually, give out to help others, and your supply will never be exhausted. “Give and it shall be given you” is not only a divine law but it is also a divine promise. Thus, the Christian will prosper, and as he does, he should give himself to hospitality, remembering that “Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 12:13; 13:10). Paul said, “He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully . . . God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor; his righteousness remaineth forever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the ministration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God” (2 Cor. 9:6-12).
10. The last law of prosperity we will mention is to “honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase” (Prov. 3:6-12).
If we do this we have the promise, “So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.” We also have the promise in Mal. 3:10-11, that if we would honour God and pay our tithes, He would open the windows of Heaven and pour out blessings that we would not be able to receive, and He would rebuke the devourer and bless the works of our hands.
In this passage in Malachi we have an accusation by God that He was being robbed; we have a command to bring all the tithes into the storehouse; and we have a challenge by God to prove Him and see if He would not cause prosperity. If one will pay his tithes (ten percent of all his income, wages, increase or profit) to the Lord, and keep accurate records so that there will be no mistakes, God is under obligation to meet His challenge.
Mr. Kerr of the Kerr-Mason fruit jar fame started tithing when he was in debt. He had a mortgage on his home and was worried and distressed about his finances. Within three months after beginning to tithe, unexpected and unforeseen blessings came to him in the form of a fruit jar patent, and as he so aptly put it, “God opened my eyes to see His love and faithfulness to His promises.” That same year with $100.00 and a strong faith in God’s tithing promises contained in Mal. 3:10, he organized a corporation which has grown beyond bounds.
I have never seen nor heard of a man that has not been blessed when he has been faithful in tithing with faith in God’s promises and with faith that God will meet His own obligation to bless in material things. There are no testimonies, as far as I know, of rich men commencing to tithe, but there are many testimonies of men who began to tithe when they were poor and they are now rich. A few may be enumerated as follows:
- Crowell, founder of the Quaker Oats Company.
- Colgate, founder of Colgate soaps, perfumes and powders.
- Proctor of the Ivory Soap Company.
- Hyde of “Mentholatum” fame.
- Henry Delaney of Resinol Ointment renown.
- Matthias Baldwin, founder of the Baldwin Locomotive Industry.
- G. LeTourneau, maker of large earth-moving equipment.
Men cannot practice the above-mentioned laws of prosperity without being prosperous. They cannot truly give themselves to God and others to be a blessing in business or otherwise without reaping the rich rewards promised in the laws of prosperity. If you want to prosper, set your own house in order and follow faithfully the laws stated above, and soon God will lead you into blessings that you never thought were possible. Apply yourself to a strict observance of these laws and principles and watch things happen that will bless you more than you are blessing others.
Above taken from: Finis Jennings Dake , God’s Plan for Man (Lawrenceville, Georgia: Dake Publishing Inc., 1977), pp. 217-223. For more information on this book Click Here.
