Why is it that God allows those who do not care about Him to prosper?
Right after the fall of man, God told man that the ground was cursed for his sake; that he was going to have to toil, and that all the work of his would bring him thorns and thistles (Gen 3:17). Mankind continued in this vain until after the great flood – which wiped out all humanity except Noah and his family. After this, God made a covenant with all creation. God made a new proclamation with man which made the proclamation of Gen 3:17 null and void. He said that the ground would no longer be cursed for the sake of man even though all that he imagines in his heart is evil (Gen 8:21). He said that there would always be seed time and harvest time for as long as the earth remains (Gen 8:22).
Thus, we see that God gave man a way to prosper from his toil and work irrespective of the state of his heart.
In His mercy, God allows mankind to eat of the fruit of his toil (hard labor) whether we are obedient to Him or not.
Jesus referenced the mercy of God that he pronounced in Gen 8:22 when he mentioned that God makes the sun rise on the evil and good, and sends the rain on the just and unjust (Mat 5:45).
But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who spitefully use you, and persecute you;That you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust – Matthew 5:44-45
To paraphrase, Jesus is saying: You need both the sun to shine and the rain to fall for the plants that you have sown to grow. Whether you are good or not good, God makes the sun rise and the rain to pour so that harvest time can continue in the world; so that all humanity can prosper. God, in his love and mercy makes no distinction between those who are good and those who are evil in this respect. Therefore be like him and be make no distinction between those you love and your enemy.
Why should we strive to be obedient to him when there are so many who are disobedient and are doing well?
For those of us who accept Jesus, we not only walk in the continued mercy of God, we also receive the favor of God on our life as well as the Holy Spirit of power. We no longer have to toil and spin for what we need (Matt 6:28). We can simply depend on God to provide those things for us as we walk in loving- obedience to His Spirit. Hence we see that it is no longer hard toil and labor (works) that brings blessings. Rather, it is loving obedience that brings blessings. Though we can continue in the way of all creation, Jesus has shown us the better way – the way of favor and power!
In the way of the world, the extent of your blessing is proportional to the labor of your hand. In the way of the Word, the extent of your blessing is proportional to the extent of your obedience.
A good example of this is the man, Daniel (see book of Daniel). He walked in obedience to God and so became the second in command of the greatest kingdom in the world at that time! Nothing he could have done in his own strength (toil) could have made him attain that position, for he was a foreign slave. No way would he have been given that opportunity outside of God. Thus we see that obedience will get us to a higher position than what toil can. We also see that obedience is faster and easier than toil.
Second, obedience releases power! The man of God that went to King Jeroboam (read 1 Kings 13:1-6) was supernaturally protected from being arrested when he obeyed God. Furthermore, God released His power to break the alter for the sake of the man of God. Likewise, God will always release his power on our behalf as we walk in obedience – His power to save, heal, speak boldly and courageously; His power to achieve all that he has called us to achieve!
Faithful obedience releases the favor and power of God to do the miraculous in our lives.
So why choose God? We choose God because we want more than just the mercy of God. In our appreciation of His love for us, we also want to experience His chain-breaking and life giving favor and power in our lives. When we live in the fullness of His grace (mercy, favor, and power) is when the world will take notice and our influence on it will explode. Then we will start to live heaven on earth and more people would be drawn to God and be saved. In other words, love compels us to be obedient! Obedience in turn will release the abundant life in our lives.
SuperChamp 