Does God always prosper his people when they obey (1 Kings 2:3)?
Imagine you have two teenaged children. The older son does what you desire out of love for you; the younger son, whenever he obeys you, comes around asking for money. Which one loves you, and which one loves what you give him? You desire both to obey you, and you desire to bless and give good things to both. But if one of your children ever becomes demanding or insists, “Hey, it’s your job to give to me’’ good things!” such language would reveal what the relationship and obedience was really all about. God wants his children to obey, and yes, he will often bless them tangibly. But the Son he loved more than any other–Jesus Christ–suffered, and was not spared rejection, humiliation, or physical pain. The “blessings” of obedience Jesus experienced are a clue to what we as his followers can expect: sometimes they will be temporal, but even when they are absent, God is present. He alone–not prosperity–is our greatest reward.
