I Wish Above All Things

3 John 1:2

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

For those of us raised in the church, we have heard this scripture countless times. It has been a favorite scripture among those who preach the "prosperity" gospel. I like prosperity. I am all for it, however, this is not God proclaiming that above all things, it is His will that we prosper.  Besides, this is John in a letter "to my dear friend Gaius."  It is an opening greeting. That is not to diminish it's importance on how we can apply it, but we have to be careful about creating some sort of doctrine on salutations. 

If I were to create a doctrine based on this, it would be about health. I wish that you may be in good health. How does that happen for you? In order for us to prosper, for the majority of us, we must work for it. There are a few who have inherited prosperity but I don't hang with many that have. In fact, I don't think I know anyone who has inherited their prosperity. I don't know anyone who has gained prosperity through the lottery either. Most every one I know who lives in prosperity worked for it. The same goes for good health. You have to work for it.

I know, you are saying to yourself "here he goes again." That is correct. Here I go again. It is my passion to see my family, friends and acquaintances be in good health. After all, who wants bad health? So, how do we obtain good health? In some cases, diseases, injuries, birth defects, etc. has come our way and we can't ever obtain good health. However, most people just don't care enough to strive for being healthy. I know. That was me for about 50 years. I was never concerned with it and as a result, I found myself obese and with high blood pressure. I was disgusted with myself. As most of you know, I changed my life and wrote about my experience in "All My Strength." So, it is now my passion to see you live in good health. I can leave you with the same thought as John left with Gaius: I wish for you prosperity and good health even as your soul prospers!