I was going through the scriptures today in the morning for my daily Bible study when God suddenly led me to Proverbs 10:22…
“The blessing of the Lord maketh rich. And He adds no sorrow with it.”
For a long time I waited to grasp the meaning. I had not seen this verse for a long time. What is God saying here? Why is He saying “And He adds no sorrow with it?” We know that our God is a good God. When He gives us His blessing, He empowers us to prosper with His blessing. We are rich in both health and in wealth in our daily lives. Even our children do well. Then why sorrow? Why does He have to emphasize that He adds no sorrow with His blessing?
Friends, there are actually two economies operating simultaneously in the world today. The first is God’s way of doing things from the beginning in the chapter on Genesis. We know that the blessing He put on Adam did not last long. By his disobedience Adam lost what God gave him free of charge. The blessing had turned into a curse which many of us have to bear even today. But God was merciful. He had immediately gone and set up His plan for Man’s redemption. God destroyed everything on Earth through that mighty flood. But he spared Noah and his sons Shem, Ham and Japheth and allowed them to carry on with the mankind race. All of us are descendants of Shem, Ham and Japheth.
For a time it was peace again on Earth. “Be fruitful, multiply and replenish the Earth (Genesis 9:1) was working perfectly well. We were all blessed. But soon it was trouble again. Noah’s sons Ham and Japheth went about disobeying God and established what we know today as the Babylonian system of economy of Man trying to meet his needs without God. Noah’s other son Shem followed God, obeyed God. We also know that Abraham, the father of all nations was a direct descendant of Shem. That was how the two economies began on earth.
The Babylonian system of economy created by Ham and Japheth is the modern world of commerce. It is here that the modern way of doing business where man eats man, the cheating and stealing style of doings has survived to this day. They solve their spiritual needs by accepting material things and rituals and proclaim their own version of prosperity. The only thing that mattered was to make more money at any cost. For them it was only riches that bring in blessings.
The second system of economy is God’s system where Man depends on God for his daily existence. He is not worried about the rising oil prices or loss of jobs in today’s world. He obeys God by doing His Will as it is given in the Bible. He is never worried about losing his job or having no money. Why? He depends on God for his needs. The blessing that came from Shem to Abraham and to all the Jewish people was given to all mankind when Jesus died on that cross and rose again on the third day. We do not really have to worry about our jobs for existence because we are all always on assignment. We go where God instructs us to be. We are not concerned about our salaries anymore. In the God’s system we use our salary money as seeds for tithes and offerings. We get our harvest sometimes more than a hundred fold. We are not subject to the world system that Ham and Japheth started.
Remember we have the Holy Spirit to guide us all the way. Our blessing can allow us to prosper and live without sorrow at any time anywhere. The size of our bank balance should not be a concern at all. We do not have to work 4 jobs to pay our bills. In other words we are blessed not because we are rich. We are really rich only because we are blessed.
Friends, this can be mighty revelation to all of us who are worried about the way the world is functioning today. It will take the load of our backs. I remember that famous quote of that funny and yet mighty man of God. When asked what Jesse Duplantis did for a living, he jokingly replied “I make my living by giving!” He gave his money away regularly to people as God directed him. And we have seen God has blessed Jesse. He has recently bought another airplane!
Is this not a great way to live? We now know that God never adds sorrow with His blessing. Proverbs 10:22 is fulfilled!
Bible commentator: Sunder Venkataram.
