Does God Want You To Be Rich?
14 09 2006
That is the title and cover story of this weeks Time Magazine. The authors of the story are reporting on the new prosperity preachers, folks like Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Joyce Meyers and others. But the intriguing thing to me is that all of the people they solicited critiques from are well off, influential, white guys who certainly are not poor. How about a Michael Eric Dyson or a Tony Evans eh? But hey, those two guys are well off, influential black guys. Now don’t get me wrong, I am no fan of prosperity preaching, most of it in my view is rank heresy. But here is the thing, if poor people actually followed the precepts of the Bible to a “t”, most of them would probably climb out of poverty. When you work hard, play by the rules, and don’t have kids out of wed lock, you tend to do okay in this society. It is as simple as that. And don’t we want poor people to get out poverty and enter the middle class? What is exactly wrong with that? In fact, I have heard Osteen preach some pretty sound, biblical concepts on loving your enemy and doing good to those who want to do you dirty. And I have heard Dollar call poor people out of a victim’s mentality and to become more responsible and reliant on God, not the government. So I really cannot fault them for this kind of message.
Here is the thing, the only people who really have to walk by faith in this country are poor people. If you grew up middle class and have decent skills, you can make your own way. And you probably don’t need God so much. The fact of the matter is that many of those speaking out against the health/wealth gospel are pretty healthy and wealthy themselves. It is one thing to deny yourselves nice cars and clothes if you grew up middle class and have always had access to those sorts of things, but is a whole other thing growing up poor with no trust fund as a safety net, and no real hope to own nice new cars and clothes through honest labor.
So when those guys sell everything that they own and live amongst the poor, then they can say something. But even so, they first need to really understand what it means to be poor, and giving all your earthly pessessions away does not help you to understand one bit, because you first have to have something to give away.
Marc,
Are you really that sympathetic to the Prosperity Gospel?
As I see it, this heresy sets poor people up for huge fall. And the message is not targeted specifically at the poor exclusively–there are plenty of middle-class folk giving their hard-earned money to these scam-artists.
The Word-of-Faith movement has little to do with biblical revelation, either. I’ve listened enough to Osteen, Copeland, Crouch, Myers, and Dollar to know that they consistently twist scripture to say what it does not say, especially concerning the power of our words, how God wants us to prosper financially, and how if you give to their ministries, you are sowing so that you will reep a huge financial harvest.
This is the Christian version of playing the lottery.
And Osteen…man! He has his people make that statement about the Bible at the beginning of each sermon, and then he rarely opens it for the next half hour! And his messages are all very people-centered (how to be successful, how to get along with people, how to look out for your own interests). Not a whole lot of God in those messages.
Sorry…I’m rambling. It’s just that I can’t stand it!
No Bob,
Like I said, I see it as a rank heresy, and for all the reasons you state. Yet I see a deeper problem with a lot of us critiquing it but not really taking up the Cross of Jesus ourselves. I am just tired of the hyprocrisy of those of us (and I do include myself) who are good at putting down these guys but are essentially living the same way.
BTW, no apologies needed. It’s great to have you over here. I really like the way you think and put things together, and I appreciate your passion too.
Thanks for the welcome. I wanted to be more positive with my first comment.
I admire people like Bishop TD Jakes—he preaches about being prosperous sure, but he also preaches on what measures we must take to have spiritual, physical, mental, and financial prosperity. Donnie McClurkin wrote this song that I think is very relevant to this subject. It says:
“I’m walking in authority
Living life without apology
It’s not wrong dear
I belong here
So you might as well get used to me…
….We’re children of the most-high God
Understand and believe His word
We never have to beg or plead
For our Father will supply our needs”
I agree that we should never let earthly riches blind us–although we do from time to time because we’re only human but that’s no excuse. However, we should never have to live in a world where people have to wonder how they are going pay this bill or feed their families, etc. That’s sickening too. Is it fair that the WORLD should live sinfully and we as Christians live after the example of Christ and suffer while they prosper? Why should we be poor Christians? Why can’t we have prosperity and still give generously? Why do we have to live in one extreme or another? Is it wrong to be rich and Christian? If so then pastors like Rick Warren aren’t exactly the ones who should be pointing fingers—after all his church is pretty big too and I doubt he lives in a shack. God gives us the things we need and want based upon the way He has ordained us to fulfill our purpose in life—SERVING HIM!!! If God blesses you with money it’s not yours to keep, you have to invest. Invest in his people and in the kingdom of heaven. Sorry to be long winded, but I truly believe that prosperity is totally acceptable( physically, mentally, spiritually and mentally) as long as you realize that God plans to use your prosperity to further the cause of Christ and help his children. A woman in church once said “Do something for me and I’ll forget it eventually, but do something for my child and I’ll remember forever”. I think God feels that way too. We should ponder this concept. Be prosperous and have wealth, but realize that it is not for you. God has given it to us to give to others.
The issue here is the blantant hypocrisy of prosperity preachers. How can you say you’re a Christian who believes in the richness of heaven, when your primary focus is on the riches of the world?
It’s not wrong for a Christian to be wealthy, but it is wrong for a Christian to idolize wealth the same way he idolizes God. Secondly, if the only reason you have faith in God is in hopes of being rich, then obviously your faith is flawed, to say the least.
Basically, a pastor can have a million dollar house and drive a mercedes and still be a man of God. But when he starts to use wealth as a reason for worship, then there is a problem. He’s become a man of mankind.
i strongly believe that Christians should be prosperous people because their God and father is the owner of the earth , and he isn’t poor, he is mega rich.(psalms 24 verse 1) all the silver and gold are his… there are many christians who once were poor but through the teachings of Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar , David Oyedepo etc, they are rich today by applying the principles of prosperity in Christ Jesus that work all over the earth…. it all starts with a genuine love for a God and a geniune thirst for him to use you for his kingdom expansion agenda on earth. there is no way God will give you an assignment without making you prosperous enough( wealthy enough, healthy enough, wise enough )to carry it out. He makes us prosperous so that we can seek his kingdom expansion agenda on earth, and bless people around us. Most of the prosperity preachers of our time were once poor but today they are rich because they yielded their lives for God to use. if you have any doubts about Godly prosperity, and you believe that the word of God as written in the Bible is true then i advice you to read the following scriptures that will change your mentality….psalms 35 verse27, isaiah 60, zecharaiah 1 verse 17, proverbs 10vs22, Galatians 5.why should we suffer in lack and want when we have a father who is good , kind and loving?he gives his people all things richly to enjoy(1st timothy 6 vs 17)he is no respecter of persons. if you do what he says he would prosper you. (Acts of the apostles 10vs 35). Indeed,God blesses people.
take that poverty mentality off your mind today give your life over to Jesus, a, stay holy and apply the principles of prosperity in Christ Jesus, then you will see the great difference in your life.(obadaih verse17). The problem with most christians is that they dont study the bible so they end up in the traps of the devil which include poverty.as Christians kingdom success is our birthright. study the bible verses i gave you and you will see that for your self. prosperity is one of the key reasons why Jesus died on the cross for us (Galatians 3 verses 13 and 14).wake up . you too can be rich like Creflo Dollar and his friends who discovered these secrets and believed them and applied them . Go and look at their beginnings, it wasnt that rosy.you as a Christian are meant to be excedingly rich.(2nd corinthians 9 (meditate on vs 6-8)). God bless you!!!(do you want to know more?do you have any info on Godly prosperity to share ? send an email to ugojiogbu@yahoo.com)
in my first comment i made a mistake .please read Galatians chapter 3 not chapter 5. i apologize.thanx.
Show me one place in the Bible where it says we are supposed to be poor. You won’t find it, nor will you find where we’re supposed to be sick. Take a quick glance at Deut 28:1-14 that will explain exactly what you are entitled to as a believer and follower of His word. Instead of just listening, you should research for yourself. God is not a respector of persons, the blessing of prosperity is for everyone who will believe.
Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge!
Jesus asked “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?” He also said that the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil. Further, we see in the book of Acts that the believers regarded worldly wealth so little, that they gave everything away. No, I don’t see a command that we are to live in poverty, but also don’t see a command that we are focus on accumulating wealth. What I do see is a command by Jesus to seek first the Kingdom of God.
I’m sorry to say this, but it is obvious that those of you who are writing these things about these “so -called prosper-preaching ministers” have never really listened to them, or have listened to more than one or two sermons. Anyone who has listened IN DETAIL to any one of these ministers KNOWS that they preach about WAY MORE than just prosperity. Creflo Dollar is a PRIME example. That man teaches ALOT about our responsibility as Christians through the LIVING WORD OF GOD. He is one of the ONLY ministers that preaches the word so that we can actually APPLY it to our lives….alot of other preachers don’t even tell you how to apply the Word to your life. They only tell a good story. It is just such a shame that people who don’t do their research comment on such things and only focus and elaborate on something that could put these people in a wrong light. Let’ s stop tearing each other down, and instead build up those that are doing GOOD works for the Kingdom of God.
jesus said, if any man will follow me, let him deny himself, pick up his cross and follow me…this is far from the prospertiy gospels preached…u cannot live like the world and also deny self…we are suppose to decrease so that Christ can increase…but at every turn the preachs are sayin we suppose to increase cuz Christ paid for it at the cross…
we enter in at a narrow gate and walk a narrow path…
but ppl who claim that worldly goods dont matter to them but spend excessively to keep their flesh in every comfort and then some, are deceived and their preachin is deception…fleshly comfort is sayin ‘peace, peace but there is no peace’…
no man can serve 2 masters; no man can serve God and mammon; the love of money is the root of every evil…the Word of God is so clear against prosperity preachin…and if u wanna say they dont always preach prosperity, u only have to see them — lifestyles of the rich and shameless — to see what they really beleive…they preachin louder wit they cars and clothes than with the few moments they give lip service to the Word of God…
be bless… -g-
I feel its true God gives us what we need or can handle. I have recently gone through some finacil sruggles. I know that God doesnt want us poor. But he has a great way of drawing us closer to him or the other choice of not following him. Going through these struggles I have found myself on my knees weeping to my father. I have drawn so close to him. I would have never gone through these growing pains if I have had what I wanted. I would of probably gone on like I had been doing before. He has great plans for me and yes things are getting much better. DO to my father.
Why are Christians so caught up in this prosperity Gospel? The Hebrew word “prosper” has little to do with money and possessions and more to do with security, peace and spiritual riches. How much money did Jesus have? Have you ever seen a “U-Haul” trailer behind a hearse? How much money and possessions will YOU have with you when you stand before the throne? The prosperity Gospel is nothing more than a type of Baalism. Baal was the god who gave you what you wanted. Put him in your field and you will have a good harvest. Put him near your money and it will grow. Why is it that prosperity churches are the poorest? (with the exception of the ministers) If wealth is a sign of God’s favour then the Roman Catholics must be God’s favourite church - after all they have more wealth than all the other churches put together. It’s not good enough to say “Oh well! Creflo Dollar also teaches some good things as well” Can sweet water come from a bitter well? - His wardrobe alone could feed an African family for twenty years.