One of the things that God instilled in his children early on is the idea that they were created in the image of God. This was so different than the pagan idea that they were pawns being pushed around by the gods. It gave them this confidence in their identity. Among other things, this raised a desire in them to prosper. God taught his children incentive and reward. They were inspired to hard work because they know God would consistantly reward them for hard work. It gave them the opportunity to advance. Incentive and reward is a good and godly thing.

If a businessman sells a good product at a fair price to his customer, they will come back to buy more. The customer will also likely tell their friends to come buy as well. If the businessman asks too much for the product (more than market price) or gives a product that is subpar or inferior to other product in the market, the customer will not come back and buy again, and he will tell his friends not to buy from the businessman. So the businessman has the incentive to be honest and he is rewarded with a prosperous growing business. Though most businessmen are honest, the dishonest ones are flushed out over time but the principle of incentive and reward.

The one created in God’s image has a sense of holiness and the fear of God on all their financial affairs and finances, and so they prosper. Some piously think this idea of incentive and reward is not very spiritual, but God in fact created it. It is how he has hard-wired mankind. He used it with Adam and he is still using it today.