Tucked into a list of names in 1 Chronicles is a two-verse story about a man named Jabez. “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, ‘Because I bore him in pain’” (1 Chronicles 4:9). Then Jabez prayed: “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And the Bible simply says, “God granted what he asked” (1 Chronicles 4:10).
Many churchgoers would call that prayer selfish. But God answered it. That raises a question many Christians quietly wonder about: is it all right to want more, and if so, how do you actually build it?
Yes, a Christian Can Want More
Wealth and lifestyle are part of the same conversation. When your income changes, your life changes with it, whether it goes up or down.
The church has sometimes taught people that being broke is the most spiritual way to live. Scripture does not say that. “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).
Money does not make a person evil. Jesus taught that what defiles a person comes “out of the heart” (Matthew 15:18-19). Money only reveals what is already there. Money has no ethic of its own. It is a tool.
It is also easy to let where you come from set your expectations. Do not settle for less just because less is all around you.
Prosperity Is Born Out of Pain
Jabez was named for pain, and lasting increase usually comes out of pain, too. Some preaching makes the life of faith sound like one unbroken upward line. Scripture is more honest: “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes” (Psalm 119:71). Peter writes that “after you have suffered a little while,” God will “restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10).
Sometimes the pain is severe, like abuse or abandonment that makes someone say, “I’m not living this way anymore.” Sometimes it is small, a minor scare that finally gets our attention. Either way, pain pushes us to make a decision and take action. Without it, most people never decide. Most of us know we should get in shape. We just do not hurt enough yet.
Here are four things you must do to build your wealth and live the life you desire.
1. Develop a Vision for Your Life
Vision can sound either too lofty or like empty positive thinking. But having a vision will not change anything by itself, and without one, you cannot change anything.
A vision is simply a heading, like a navigator setting a ship’s course. Ask yourself: What do I want to do? Where do I want to go? What do I want my life to look like?
Once you know the destination, two things happen. First, your vision becomes the ruler every decision is measured against. Second, you can reverse engineer the path: what skills you need, what milestones to reach, and who you must become.
Nehemiah gives a powerful question for this. While he was rebuilding Jerusalem’s wall, his enemies tried to scare him into hiding in the temple. He answered, “Should such a man as I run away?” (Nehemiah 6:11). Once you have a vision, you can ask the same question about every choice: should a person such as I do this?
And it is never too late. People in every season of life, with every kind of background, have found a vision for their lives and changed their trajectory.
2. Get on a Written Budget
You cannot spend more than you make and build wealth. Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24). Money makes a terrible master, but it makes a wonderful servant, and you keep it a servant by deciding where it goes before you spend it. Decide on paper, prayerfully, not in the checkout line.
Every believer needs two budgets:
- A budget for the money you have. Whatever the amount, give every dollar a job. Resources like Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover can help you take control.
- A faith budget for the life your vision requires. Many people dream about a lifestyle without ever pricing it. Put real numbers to your vision, including taxes. You will find that some dreams cost more than you thought and others less, and that all money has limits.
A faith budget feeds back into your vision. You revisit it, adjust it and keep reverse engineering the path.
3. You Go Where You Sow
Giving has a spiritual effect, and it has a natural one, too. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). When you give to missions, you start caring about missionaries. When you give to the house of the Lord, your heart turns toward getting your family into the house of the Lord.
If vision is the heading, sowing is the rudder. It bends your life in the direction you are giving.
Your vision and faith budget also help you think about the size of your seed. The Bible’s principle of sowing and reaping is plain: “whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). A seed produces after its kind. No one else can set the size of your gift, but anyone can tip God. Real sowing is giving in a way you feel.
4. Take Massive Action
Work is not a curse. Before sin ever entered the world, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). You were designed to work. Scripture is blunt: “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).
There is no straight road to the life you want, the vision you want to accomplish or the wealth you want to build. It will twist and climb. You may have to cut back on the way. Do not get discouraged when you cannot see a straight path.
Believers sometimes get work backward: striving to earn what Jesus already finished at the cross, then waiting for the things that require effort to arrive on their own. Jesus came that we “may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Take hold of it. “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it” (Proverbs 13:11). Do not wait for a supernatural lottery ticket. Put your hand to the plow.
Your Homework
There is no shortcut at the end of this. There is homework:
- Get a vision.
- Get on a budget.
- Decide what to sow.
- Take massive action.
One last word. If something always seems to come up that stops you, it may not be spiritual warfare. It may be self-sabotage, the natural instinct to avoid risk and stay where it feels safe. Look that obstacle in the face and tell it, “You’re important, but you’re not that important.” Then go do what God has called you to do.