Throughout the Old Testament a pattern emerges whereby the people of God experience blessing, squander it, experience some sort of discipline, repent of their sin and are restored to their blessed state. This pattern starts with Adam and Eve and recycles through the entire Old Testament. In fact, it’s still a pattern found in many peoples lives today.

The prophecies of Hosea provide some insight as to why this cycle continues:
”…as they became satisfied, their hearts became proud; therefore they forgot me.” (Hos. 13.6)

To some, it may seem counter-intuitive, that the prosperity provided by the Lord would actually lead people to an attitude of pride, complacency and compromise. It’s not the prosperity that leads people to their downfall, but our attitude toward prosperity.

At some point people begin to take credit for their own prosperity. Taking credit and taking responsibility are subtly different. The poetry in the book of Proverbs leads me to believe that I must take responsibility for the conditions of my life that are within my control, but the poetry in the book of Ecclesiastes keep me in check be reminding me that I can not control all of the circumstances of my life. The poetry in the book of Job is a dramatic illustration of the convergence of principles found in both Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

If people aren’t patting themselves on the back in response to their satisfaction in life, perhaps they are looking at it as vindication of their decisions. God’s people often looked at favorable circumstances as vindication for their lifestyles, even if their lifestyles clearly contradicted God’s Word. People still do this today, looking at things like job promotions, nice cars and financial prosperity as vindication for how they have sacrificed their families, integrity and own souls.

In addition to taking credit and seeking vindication, people also put their trust in their material blessings. If the house is paid off, the bank account is full and the cars are in good shape, what could possibly go wrong? This attitude prevents people from living in a state of daily reliance upon God.

The principle that interrupts this entire cycle is grace. Grace attributes blessing, favor and prosperity to God, not ourselves. Even when we do play an active role in our prosperity by making wise decisions, it’s God’s grace that provided the wisdom and carried the decisions out to their conclusion. Some people make wise decisions and still suffer (Job, Jesus, the Apostles, etc…). The fact that we can make wise decisions and benefit is a means of grace.

Grace doesn’t permit us to look at good circumstances as vindication for our actions. Grace empowers us to maintain daily dependence on God whether our circumstances are challenging or satisfying. Perhaps this is why Paul could say that he knew the secret of “having abundance and suffering need” (Phil. 4.12).

From time to time many people fall into the cycle of prosperity, compromise, judgement and repentance. If we can practice some self-awareness about where we are in this process and be intentional about maintaining a life of gratitude, trust and repentance, perhaps we can bypass the complacency, compromise, warning and judgement that is often required to bring us to repentance. In doing that we learn to steward blessing and see it’s increase.