God has given in His Word a picture of a prosperous man,—one whose life was in the truest sense a success, a man whom both heaven and earth delighted to honor. Of his experiences Job himself says:—
“In the ripeness of my days, When the secret of God was upon my tent; When the Almighty was yet with me, And my children were about me; ... The young men saw me and hid themselves, And the aged rose up and stood; ... For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me; And when the eye saw me, it gave witness unto me; Because I delivered the poor that cried, The fatherless also, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me; And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was as a robe and a diadem.”
“The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it.”—Education, 142.
The Bible condemns no man for being rich, if he has acquired his riches honestly. Not money, but the love of money, is the root of all evil. It is God who gives men power to get wealth; and in the hands of him who acts as God’s steward, using his means unselfishly, wealth is a blessing, both to its possessor and to the world.—The Ministry of Healing, 212. RRe 29
With awful distinctness do priests and rulers recall the events of Calvary. With shuddering horror they remember how, wagging their heads in Satanic exultation, they exclaimed, “He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him.” [Matthew 27:42, 43.] ... Hvn 46
In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him. Ecclesiastes 7:14. KJV