Afew weeks ago, I was at a mall with my family, we were thirsty and hungry, so we decided to get ourselves a drink. We opted for three cups of smoothie and each of us made our selection. As soon as the server handed over my cup, I took a very long sip to quench my thirst, I took a second sip and didn’t notice anything, but after the third sip, I realized the smoothie had an aftertaste that lingered and wasn’t pleasant.

Halfway through the cup, I couldn’t continue because the aftertaste was far too pronounced. I handed it over to someone else, and my family members also shared the same sentiment. I was perplexed because I thought, “it’s supposed to be a mix of natural fruits why should it have an aftertaste?” It then occurred to us that they may have included artificial sweeteners to enhance the taste, but with side effects.

This immediately brought to mind Proverbs 10:22:

“The blessing of the Lord, it makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.” — Proverbs 10:22

Said differently, this verse can be expanded to mean that the prosperity of God, through His benediction, makes one gain riches, enrich oneself, and grow without hardship, pain, or toil.

Three perspectives stand out to me from this verse,

God desires that we prosper: We see this rich blessedness practically expressed in Abraham. In Genesis 12, God told him that He would bless him and that he would be a blessing. In the following chapters, Abraham became rich in cattle, silver, and gold, but the index of being ‘blessed’ was not limited to material riches:

• Abraham could command his home after him to serve and follow the Lord.
• Abraham had trained over 350 servants born in his household
• His lead servant knew to pray to God when he was faced with a difficult instructions
• Abraham was respected by Gentile nations across both spiritual and social indices
• Abraham could reject inferior salvation so that his boast would remain in God alone.

God imputes prosperity through His economy of words. The psalmist in Psalm 119 shows different perspectives of the Word — it can be a proclamation, an instruction, a prophecy, a testimony, a law, a statute, or a doctrine. Our exposure to this aggregated economy of God’s Word makes the believer fully furnished, yet some people have a lopsided exposure: they have never heard a word of prophecy or engaged a promise of Scripture, the only thing they know are lashes of rebuke and reproof. On the other extreme are those who know much about prophecies and promises but neglect instructions, doctrines, and reproofs in righteousness, leaning into either extreme leaves a bitter aftertaste in the believer’s experience. Through the fullness of all Scripture, God declares His rich and rounded prosperity over us — His Word spoken to our hearts and His Word spoken through our mouths.

God’s Word produces multi-dimensional prosperity. There is tremendous multi-disciplinary value to be derived from the economy of God’s Word to us. Indeed, God’s blessing can make rich! Notice the hierarchy of priority that Apostle John provides insight into: ‘Beloved, I desire that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.’ For the blessing of the Lord to translate into whole and total prosperity, it must first enrich and transform the soul. It must renew our thinking, ideologies, imaginations, mental models and our scales of preference and priorities.

When prosperity runs ahead of the soul’s prosperity — or comes at its expense — it leaves an aftertaste. But when the true prosperity of the soul is prioritized, consistently pursued, and actualized, then lasting, wholesome, and sustainable riches can be received and handled without corrupting the vessel that carries them. God’s desire is first to make the man, before making that man rich.

Why do some pursuits of riches come with an aftertaste?

As young people, the search for meaning, relevance, and significance is often at the heart of our pursuits. While this is a noble desire, when it is mixed with a soul in deep poverty, it creates a dangerous gap that makes us prey to the enemy. The poverty of the soul often reveals itself in ingratitude, self-pity, unhealthy comparisons, and a misplaced sense of urgency that disregards process, growth, and the principle of seedtime and harvest.

This soul poverty inevitably leads to poor decisions and greater susceptibility to the enemy’s devices. And every interaction with the enemy or his schemes ultimately results in a decree of toil and pain — whether for believers or unbelievers. It may begin with a fleeting reprieve, a temporary largesse, or a counterfeit liberty, but beneath the surface lies a bitter pill wrapped in a façade of chocolate

The devil’s agenda — whether directly or through his devices — is always to introduce theft, destruction, and death into any system he touches. Though it may masquerade as liberty or freedom of choice, at its root lies a quest to overturn godly order.

Aftertastes come in varying degrees, depending on the nature and intensity of unhealthy pursuits. A common one is the bitter aftertaste of regret. Others include loneliness, shame, burnout, bondage, emptiness, loss of identity, and bitterness — the list could go on. ‘For what shall it profit a man, to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?’ (Mark 8:36).

Like a smoothie that promised refreshment but left a strange aftertaste, riches pursued outside God’s order may look sweet at first but can never refresh the soul. Only prosperity from the Lord satisfies fully and enriches without sorrow

Have a blessed week!

For His glory and renown,

Olayinka Adebayo

@layinkadebayo

Push Buttons is a weekly devotional of The Powerpoint Tribe.