Does the Bible Say God Wants You to Be Rich?
This truth may upset some people. But truth is truth. And the truth is, God wants you rich. The book of Proverbs tells us that riches and honor are in wisdom’s left hand (Proverbs 3:16).
When I say “rich” I mean having enough for your own needs with plenty leftover to share.
The Bible clearly proves this truth that God wants you to be rich. God doesn’t want His children living in lack.
Riches and honor flow from You,
and You rule over all.
In Your hand are power and might,
and in Your hand it is to make great and to strengthen all.1 Chronicles 29:12 MEV
I didn’t say God wants you to be greedy and selfish.
I didn’t say God wants you obsessed with getting rich and seeking after wealth.
God wants you to seek first His Kingdom, and thenHe will add everything to you. This is God’s way to wealth and riches.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33 NKJV
The Bible clearly bears witness to God’s desire to see you blessed.
The world has a wrong understanding of what it really means to be rich. In God’s mind, being wealthy is normal and part of the life He designed for His children, so that they can be a blessing to the world.
We are going to look at where the Bible says God wants you rich. But before you write this off as some ‘prosperity gospel message’, I encourage you to at least give the Lord enough time to show you what He says in His Word about riches.
Most people just believe what they have been taught about money, and never really ask the Lord what He thinks.
The first land that God created for mankind to live in was the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8). Eden means “pleasure, delight, luxury”.
This was the type of existence that God designed humanity to live in. A place of luxury, pleasure, and delight.
God has not changed His intention for how He wants His people to live. Sin and death entering the world changed that existence for us, not God.
As you open your heart and allow the Lord to show you who He really is, you will be amazed at His goodness. At least give Him the chance to show you from His Word what He thinks about you being rich!
True riches come from God (1 Chronicles 29:12).
He desires to lavishly bless you in this life, so that you can bless the world.
The real goal of prosperity is that you would have plenty leftover to share with others so that others will experience the goodness of God (2 Corinthians 9:8).
The mindset that says you should be poor as a Christian is a doctrine of the devil.
How can Christians take care of the poor if they are barely getting by themselves? How can they fulfill the great commission without the resources to do so?
This is exactly why the devil wants to make sure you never have more than enough.
The true purpose of wealth is to make a difference on the earth.
It’s not so that you can store up everything for yourself and hold onto all the money, but rather what you can give and the impact you can make with what God has blessed you with.
The purpose of being blessed is to establish God’s covenant on the earth (Deuteronomy 8:18).
Living in poverty is a form of bondage, and the author of it is Satan. If you’ve ever seen real poverty, you have seen the incredible devastation it brings.
There is nothing Godly about poverty.
If you are somebody who is barely getting by and barely paying the bills, I am not trying to condemn you.
There is no condemnation for you if you are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). But I do want you to know that it is not God’s desire for you to struggle. It’s not His heart toward you.
If you’ve ever lived in poverty, you could probably attest to the fact that there is nothing glorious about being poor.
Poverty doesn’t bless you, in fact it robs you of the ability to be a blessing to others.
One of the greatest opportunities God has given us on this earth is the ability to be a blessing to others.
Isn’t Money the Root of Evil?
Maybe you were taught that money is the root of all evil.
This is a misquotation of a Scripture in 1 Timothy 6:10.
The verse actually says that the love of money is the root of all evil. You can be extremely wealthy and yet not have a love for money. I have met many poor people who were consumed with the love of money.
More often than not, living in poverty causes people to become primarily focused on meeting their own needs and the goal of getting more money.
Often times, this results in a mindset full of selfishness, greed, stinginess, and covetousness.
When you know that God is your Source and He wants to abundantly provide for you, you are free to prosper and do the things God has called you to do without constantly thinking about how you are going to make ends meet.
Poverty is a curse of the law (Deuteronomy 28:15-68), a result of sin and death on the earth.
When God created the world, He made more than enough for every human to have all they need. He has no lack mindset.
He didn’t just make enough for some to thrive and some to go hungry.
God is a God of incredible abundance, and He’s the most generous being in existence. He’s not the stingy Father that you may have grown up with. He’s really rich, and really generous, and wants the same for His children.
Let’s look at some of the verses where the Bible says God wants you rich:
Proverbs 10:22 NKJV – The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.
2 Corinthians 8:9 NKJV – For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.
Psalm 112:3 NKJV – Wealth and riches will be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
Deuteronomy 28:11 NKJV – And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.
Psalm 35:27 NKJV – Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause; and let them say continually, “Let the Lord be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
Deuteronomy 8:18 NKJV – And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
3 John 2 NKJV – Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
Philippians 4:19 NLT – And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
2 Corinthians 9:8 NLT – And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.
Proverbs 15: 6 NKJV – In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, but in the revenue of the wicked is trouble.
Psalm 25:12, 13 NKJV – Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit the earth.
Psalm 68:6 NKJV – God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
Proverbs 8:18 NKJV – Riches and honor are with me, enduring riches and righteousness.
Proverbs 8:21 NKJV – That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.
1 Chronicles 29:12 NKJV – Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.
Proverbs 10:4 NKJV – He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
Proverbs 3:16 NKJV – Length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand riches and honor.
Proverbs 11:25 NKJV – The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.
Proverbs 13:4 NKJV – The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.
Proverbs 22:4 NKJV – By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.
Isaiah 45:3 NKJV – I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, am the God of Israel.
The Bible also contains many warnings about putting your trust in money rather than in God which I have not included here. I encourage you to do a study for yourself on the topic of money in the Bible!