October 27, 2006
Does God Want Me Rich?
Recently, this question has been rolling over and over in my mind, because it seems that everywhere I look, I see this type of teaching when it comes to popular, mainstream Christianity. The rise of Joel Osteen to the public eye has catapulted what’s called the “prosperity” doctrine to center stage. And it’s not just Osteen who’s preaching this type of view, it’s popular pastors across the nation like T.D. Jakes, Joyce Meyer, and it even reaches down into the local church as well. Time Magazine recently ran an article on this very thing, and it’s cover asked the same question above: Does God want me to be rich? Honestly, I’m baffled that many people who say they know their Scripture and know Jesus would still buy into this way of believing. To be clear: I have a big problem with it. I do not believe God wants us to be rich. But, I believe there are ways that God does bless us to abundance, and it can’t be measured by a bank account in most cases. Let me share some reasons that I disagree with this line of thinking.
1. Jesus said to “deny ourselves.” - If you read the Gospels, 3 out of the 4 mention a specific statement by Jesus that he made to his disciples. Matthew 16:24 says “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’” Mark 8:34 puts it this way: “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’” Finally, Luke 9:23 says: “Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” Seriously, where in this is seen any room for a life that is seeking gain for itself? Where is there room for success? Where is there room for prosperity? Jesus doesn’t say “If anyone would come after me then let him have a fat wallet”, or “If anyone would come after me, let him sow his seed and believe that I will give him a car and it will be so.” Jesus instead calls us to a life not of prospering, but of death. The call to follow Jesus, to take up the cross, is a call to DIE. My problem with prosperity doctrine believers is that they are being fooled to believe that God is the Heavenly ATM and if they will just get things right as they follow Him that it will unlock the magic code and money and blessings will flow into their life like never before. And that is creating a consumer driven form of Christianity, as if we didn’t have that already.
2. The claim to “abundance.” - Another problem I have with the prosperity doctrine is that they claim that it is our right to have abundance while we are here on Earth. Televangelist Benny Hinn once said “If I have to hear about gold streets in Heaven one more time, I’m going to throw up! I say, I want them here, Lord! I want golden streets right now!” At the heart of the prosperity doctrine, this teaching is key: prosperity means that we have abundance, or the best of everything, right now. 2 Timothy 4:8 says “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” In store. Not now. And it seems to me that the focus of our faith should not be how much we can get now, but becoming more like Jesus every day. The key verse of this doctrine is John 10:10, which says “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Honestly, can we say that Jesus was telling us there that he has come to give us life, and life that includes big houses, fat paychecks, new cars, and anything else we want? Assuming that only assumes again that Jesus’ main job was not our salvation, but to be the genie in the lamp, and make us comfortable. The full life that John 10:10 refers to is mentioned in other translations as “abundant life”. If we believe that the eternal life we receive when we come to Christ is a supernatural gift, would it not be logical to say that that life would spill over the mortal confines it’s brought into? That’s why it’s eternal…it’s abudant! It spills over the barriers of our normal life and keeps going, bringing us into the very presense of the Lord! It’s not about material things or success, it’s about a relationship with God!
3. Who Believes This? - Quite honestly: the poor. The ones who are already struggling get told by televangelists that if they will send in their prayer request with a “love gift” that God will not only answer their prayers, heal them, and make life better but that he will also return their blessing in abundance. Biblical teaching, in a way, but Biblical teaching that is twisted way out of line. Senior adult ladies sit in their homes, making barely enough to survive on Social Security, and they are asked to give astounding “love gifts” that reach into the sum of thousands of dollars. Now, this might seem like the widow’s mite for sure, but never in Scripture was the widow promised anything in return for her gift. Jesus simply told everyone, AFTER HER GIFT, that she’d given more than anyone else, for her gift had been more of a sacrifice. And it’s the poor who sacrifice more than anything with this doctrine, because they believe God is their hope for a better, more financially stable life. Saying that, it sounds awfully callous and cold, because God is our hope for a better life, but if all we depend on God for is financial stablity, then we are missing out and putting God into a box. I really don’t think that God honors a teaching that takes advantage of the poor and downtrodden while the ones claiming to have a word from the Lord get richer and richer. After all, Jesus did say in Matthew 25:45: “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’” When we take from the least of our society in order to get richer, and do nothing to help them in return, we are in big trouble, and I would not want to be standing in that position.
If you study the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament, and his Disciples after him, you will notice one thing: they always speak about sacrifice. To follow Christ in those days took an enormous amount of sacrifice, dedication, and pain. What, in 2000+ years has changed? Do we have a different God now? Did he suddenly decide that sacrifice really wasn’t what He looks for in a child of His? If we don’t think that sacrifice is a necessary part of the Christian life, then why do we embrace a man who sacrificed everything He had to give, his life, on a cross? Every single one of the disciples lived a life of hardship because of their dedication to Jesus. Many church members were killed or exiled because of their faith. Nero used Christians as human torches to light his gardens at night. Millions of believers the world over have paid the ultimate price because of their faith, and the number grows daily. Does this sound like prosperity to you? It is certainly not the prosperity of the “prosperity doctrine” but in a way, it is success. They stood firm, they never backed down, and because of that, they earned their reward. Not an SUV, not a multi-million dollar home, not a closet full of name brand clothes. No book deals, no TV shows. Instead, they finally entered into the hope that we all have: being in the presense of God forever.
Does God want me rich? Not in the way that is popular. Richness with God is found in the private, inward relationship, and it can’t be counted in dollars or stock. Abundance is the overflow of the love of God, the life that he’s given me. And none of that comes without denial. Daily we must rise and give ourselves to God, who will decide what we are supposed to be and do that day, not us. Psalm 115:1 says: “Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”
If we really believe that, why seek prosperity?