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Psalm 128  
A song of ascents.

Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in obedience to him. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Yes, this will be the blessing for the man who fears the LORD. May the LORD bless you from Zion; may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. May you live to see your children’s children—peace be on Israel.

Fearing God is not a cowering terror. It is not all talk and no action. It does not hide secret sin behind a pretense of godliness. The fear of God is an awe and respect that honors Him with one’s whole life. The fear of God is—in one word: Obedience.

The Prosperity Gospel, taught by many, purports that God provides health and wealth in return for a cursory and conditional acknowledgement of Him. This acknowledgement is often defined with money. It erroneously promises that God is beholden to bless me when I give to Him. This psalm, however, teaches the  truth about obedience. 

The psalmist says that when we do what God says—blessing follows obedience, but God’s blessings are exhibited in the satisfaction of marriage and family. God blesses us so that we can pour ourselves into lives that will love God and continue to proclaim Christ in future generations. God doesn’t bless us to get; He blesses us to give.

Father, continue to teach me that true blessing is giving myself away by loving and serving others in Your name. Help me to never be selfish with my blessings or expectant with my obedience. In Jesus’ name. Amen.