Does the Bible promise believers an easy life or riches?
No, Scripture does not promise believers an easy, rose-petaled pathway or material riches. Instead, it teaches that believers are hid in Christ and in God, secure from anything God does not permit, and are to set their affection on things above, not on material things.
Les teaches that while believers do not have to live a Spartan experience with only meager requirements, they must not let material things take priority. He explains that we set our affection on things above because we are dead to the old Adam and the things of this world, and our life is hid with Christ in God. Using the black walnut illustration, Les shows that God is all around us, Christ is the hard shell, and we are inside Him, so nothing can touch us unless it passes through God and Christ. He may permit trials, but He always permits them. Les tells believers plainly, "don't think for a minute that this book promises you a rose-petaled pathway. We aren't promised riches."