THE WAY TO WEALTH
Autor: Derrel Homer Santee, | Publicado: 2017-07-21T00:00:00-03:00


If
you then, though you are evil,know how to give good gifts to your
children,how much more will your Father in heavengive the
Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

Luke
11:13 (read 11:1-13) NIV



Those
who use this passage to support the concept that God wants prosperity
for his people distort the words of Jesus. Jesus was not a fan of the
theology of prosperity. He never promised "riches and glory"
for his followers. Rather, His was the way of simplicity, not
grandeur.



The
Lord’s Prayer asks for nothing beyond "daily bread". In
the parable that followed this prayer, the person who knocked on the
neighbor's door at midnight asking for bread was not asking it for
himself but to serve to another who had just arrived from a journey. The
promises at the end of the story must be interpreted in light of The
Lord’s Prayer and the parable of the importunate friend.



The
“good gifts” that are not denied are those that are essential for
our daily life and for the purpose of helping others. Accumulated
goods are poison, not blessing! Good gifts are not assets
that can spoil or be stolen. They are qualities that no one can take
from us. When we die, we leave behind our material possessions, but
qualities are ours forever.



The
Holy Spirit represents the good gifts: love of neighbor, solidarity
with humanity and care for all of creation.



We
do not have to be wealthy in material goods and occupy prestigious
places in society in order to have love for others, to show
solidarity with those who suffer and to care for the environment.
These "good gifts" are available to all who desire and seek
them. It is sufficient to just want them and to open to them.



When
we ask for things that are only for ourselves, we are really asking
for "snakes" and "scorpions"
that can bite and poison us. Prosperity can be a sign of doom, not of
grace. It can be the result of materialism and greed. The quest for
material wealth separates, not unites, us from our fellow humans and
from our environment. The rich need to lift barriers to defend
themselves and their wealth from any sharing with others. Poor people
and immigrants are treated as enemies, not fellow human beings. Those
who are better off than the less fortunate demonize them as lazy and
moochers as an excuse to deny them solidarity.



Jesus
was free to circulate in the crowd without the danger of being robbed
of His most precious treasure. His riches were beyond the reach of
thieves. They could be freely shared without suffering injury. Love
for God, neighbor and environment are the good gifts that we can ask
from the Father without being denied. By grace, God refuses to give
us the poisonous "snakes" and "scorpions"
of materialism. God desires true riches for us. The purpose of prayer
is to open the doors of our hearts to receive the good gifts of life.
The more these good gifts are shared the more they are multiplied and
come back to us. The good gifts are those that money cannot buy. True
wealth is ours for the asking and the willingness to share.





LUKE
11:1-13 – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)



One
day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of
his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John
taught his disciples.”



He
said to them, “When you pray, say:



Father,
hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.



Give
us each day our daily bread.



Forgive
us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.



And
lead us not into temptation.”



Then
Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him
at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;&nbsp;a
friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to
offer him.’&nbsp;And
suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is
already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up
and give you anything.’&nbsp;I
tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread
because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will
surely get up and give you as much as you need.



“So
I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will
find; knock and the door will be opened to you.&nbsp;For
everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one
who knocks, the door will be opened.



“Which
of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake
instead?&nbsp;Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a
scorpion?&nbsp;If you then, though you are evil, know how to give
good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!