Genesis 3:19

"By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19).

Question:

I am reading the Millionaires of Genesis series, and I need to get a deeper understanding of what this means in relation to prosperity and the consciousness that it is only through hard work that prosperity can be attained.

Comment:

This entire passage—from 3:14 through 3:19—is crucial, I think, in understanding our relationship to the Divine and our purpose in this human experience. It is generally thought to represent the anger of a vengeful God, inflicting punishment on Adam and Eve for their disobedience. From this perspective, the entire purpose of our human lives is to suffer, and prosperity would have no significance at all. And there are, indeed, still those who believe that God wants us to live lives of lack and poverty. 

That doesn't seem to me to be compatible in any way with the Divine Nature of infinite Love that Jesus describes, teaches, and demonstrates throughout his ministry. What I sense here is a God Energy that wants us, as expressions of Itself, to venture forth, learning to make the creative choices that will bring more of the Divine into expression. He is not inflicting punishment. He is (metaphorically) making certain that Adam and Eve understand that choices have consequences. They have chosen to leave the unity of Spirit and “know good and evil” in order to make creative choices. The consequence of that choice is that the illusion of duality will be very persuasive—even addictive. We will believe in the illusion of lack and limitation, suffering and death. It is by moving through the illusion that we come to the Truth: the infinite Love, Power, Abundance, and Joy that are our birthright.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed