Where is your Focus?

Lately I have been considering the prosperity gospel as it has been called. The is a teaching usually found in the charismatic churches and has spread into other denomination. The main point of this teaching is that through faith in Christ believers will walk in health and financial prosperity. Personally I come from a Southern Baptist background where in most cases piety is the equivalent of poverty. The poorer you are obviously the more you have given up to the glory of God. If you drive a new car you are of the Devil. As I study the Word of God it seems that both of these standards are false.
If the prosperity gospel is true then there are many strong men of God that are walking without faith, and if the poverty gospel is true then many of the Old Testament heroes of the faith are sinful as they walked in abundance.

Why do Christians walk through trials and challenges in life?

1) We live in a fallen world. Due to the sin of Adam and our sin since Adam we live in a world that is dying and off balance. It is because of this that we suffer at times and question whether God can be real in a world such as this. We question it because what we see is not in line with the moral will of God. We live outside His moral will and therefore suffer for being out of alignment.

2)Trials keep us focused. In Deut. 6 God tells the Israelites to remember Him after their victory and blessings have been received. When we are in pain we will call day and night of God to help us, but as soon as we just start to get out of a bad situation our focus is taken off God. We become as the 9 lepers that do not return in thanks to God for healing us. If we could stayed focused on God in prosperity I believe He would heap it on us with greater liberty.

What about the Scripture that says it is easier for camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God?

Let me ask you this: How easy is it for a poor man to enter into the kingdom of God? Rich or poor the door is still Christ and the path is still narrow. Again it is the focus of a man's life that determines their destiny in Christ. If riches distract you from God it is an idol and is a curse, but poverty is also a curse. If you think that poverty is a high esteem in life then you should read Proverbs. God gave us a book devoted completely to prosperity in various physical forms.

It all comes down to the focus on your life. I believe that both standards described above have their fault. We will go through trials of health and finance, but if we follow the examples set forth in proverbs then God says that blessings should follow.