Among the Biblical characters, Job stood out as one who knew the purpose of life. The vicissitudes of life did not affect his relationship with God. When the going was smooth with him, he saw Jesus as Lord and Saviour. His prosperity did not take his mind, time or loyalty off his Creator – the Giver of the blessing. When the goings became tough with him, Jesus remained Lord. He never despaired! Just as he saw his good times as the reason for believing God, he saw his hard times as a reason for believing God as well, because he knew the purpose of life was beyond the joy and pain we receive.
When we base our relationship with God on prosperity, we would have nothing to rest our belief on when the prosperity is taken away. When we base our relationship on the joy of life alone, satan would use it as a bait to tempt us. Bait is the thing that attracts one to receive harm or injury. Bait is food put on a hook or trap in order to catch a fish or an animal. It is the thing you cherish most that satan uses as a bait to tempt you – those things we love most.
Satan uses our weakness to tempt us – I mean, anything we love most becomes our point of weakness. For example, if you have a car you cherish so much, if anything happens to that car, you are likely to despair and complain, “Why me of all this?” That may affect your relationship with God. By the time satan knows that tempting you with something you love would separate you from the love of God, he would continue to tempt you with those things you love. That is why Apostle Paul said, “Have all these as if you have not”. That is, if you have money, you should not allow it to control you or to dictate your direction, but let the Giver of the money instead. Love God above all!