The Prosperity Gospel

photo: NJlifehacks

The "prosperity gospel" is one which acknowledges Jesus Christ as the means to get what we want, and it greatly asserts that Christ is the vehicle to riches, wealth, and whatever else we (materialistically) desire.

Whereas the "true gospel" of Christ is that which acknowledges Jesus Christ as the end itself.

In brief:

 When you receive Jesus Christ, then you've reached your destination. So whatever wealth, prosperity or anything else that comes along with His great promises is a means for you to make his name known to the ends of the earth.

It'd be very sad if any of us died before achieving our main goal in life, whatever that might be. To most of us it might be wealth. It is indeed sad, but if you died before acquiring wealth, you would still be okay. But if you died before receiving Jesus Christ in your heart, you would be eternally doomed to hell's flames.

I am not saying that we shall not get wealth or that we shouldn't mind pursing it, after all our fathers from Abraham, Issac, Jacob, King Solomon, Job, all the way to the apostle Paul, and most people that God used mightily, had a lot of material possessions. In fact, they not only had a lot of wealth, but they seemed to be the wealthiest during their time. However, every time I remember God promising each of them wealth, He always said something like, So that you or they (their enemies) may know that I am the Lord your God.

"You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. 

Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed."

Joel 2:26-27 (NIV)

Clearly, look into your favorite prosperity verses, and read a few verses before or after each of them, you will see the purpose of wealth and prosperity clearly stated: for the advancement of the kingdom of God through giving to others and/or giving glory back to God.

Besides asking for deliverance from oppression, men/women of God rarely asked for riches and prosperity. Even when, for example, King Solomon asked for influence, fame and prosperity in Psalms 72, in that very same breath (Verse 12 to 14), he states why he was asking for these things which was to: ...defend the oppressed, deliver the needy, take pity on the weak...

In brief, you ought not ask God for wealth and prosperity if you are not willing to do with it what he expects you to do. Do not be so taken up by all the comfort, respect and authority that comes with wealth, that you forget its purpose. Am not saying that you go hustle, acquire some good wealth for yourself, and then give it all away. I don't know if/how you can get wealthy if you just give it all away. What you do, you manage it like a steward; you spend some (on yourself), you tithe some, you invest some, you give some.

The challenge with the prosperity gospel is that it makes us "entitled Christians"; entitled to the promises of God. And then we end up completely losing our focus from the Giver of the gifts to the gifts themselves.

Let's say an influential person promises to pay for you school fees until you finish your degree, and he sure needs to be reminded because of his tight schedule, lest he forgets all about you in the maze of his busyness. I doubt you'd approach him in a demanding, entitled kind of way. I doubt if you would want your very own child to always feel and act like he/she is entitled to what you give them. If you know of a thankless child, then you know what I mean here.

Why then do we assume it is okay to go to God demanding and commanding him to do what he promised, "You have to do it for me because you promised!" we demand. No dear, he doesn't have to.

When we approach God with this entitlement attitude that we so often mistake to be faith, we become like the children of Israel in the desert. No matter what God did for them, they always felt entitled to even much more. More like, "You got us out of Egypt, now we are thirsty, we are hungry, did you bring us here to kill us?"

It's like when you tell the influential guy who pays your school fees in our assumption, "Did you educate me to leave me jobless?"

When we allow ourselves to feel entitled, we tend to lose sight of the weight and greatness of yesterday's miracle. Someone paying your school fees is a huge miracle in itself alone, and it still remains that huge even when you eventually finish school and end up being unemployed. The children of Israel leaving Egypt was a huge miracle, so even though they got thirsty along the way, they still needed to respect that miracle, or at least hold it as surety that God would indeed take good care of them still. God keeping you from birth till now is a huge miracle, even though you are broke, even though you are single, childless, or unemployed. No current challenge should make us under-value yesterday's miracles.

Even when your situation is contradicting the word of God, even though the Bible says you will not lack anything, and by the time you read that you don't even have food, you need to maintain a healthy attitude. The same attitude King David had in Psalm 89 when his situation looked contrary to God's promised:

1. He praised God, praised His power and the  miracles He did for His children in the  past.(V1-18)

2. He reminded God of the exact words He spoke promising him. (V19- 37)

3. He poured out his heart regarding his painful situation that looked contrary to the promises of God. (V38-45)

4. He asks God to remember him and save him from this situation (V46-51)

5. He gives God praise ( V52)

David respected and trusted God in his God-ness, "This is what you said; this is what is happening; I praise you because I trust that you are God, still in control and you know what you are doing even though I don't like it, even though it is uncomfortable."

Maybe that is why King David was regarded as a man after God's own heart, and the children of Israel in the desert as a rebellious people that so much angered the Lord.

When we come to God, his goal is not to make us rich, it is to love on us, keep us safe and growing: physically, mentally, character-wise, emotionally and economically. The order in which he does so depends on how he sees fit for each individual.

When we give to God, we give because we love him, because we believe in his supremacy.

God was not made for man but man for God. God doesn't serve us, we serve him. We serve him with what he does or doesn't give us.

When we ask, we simply ask; we don't demand, and neither do we command. Our faith in him is not based on him giving us material things or not. 

We ask like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as they were about to be thrown in the fire furnace, "If God delivers us, well and good; if he doesn't deliver us, well and good!" (Daniel 3:17-18)

When it comes to biblical prosperity, always remember this,

"Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."

-Proverbs 30:9

It's been a lovely Wednesday.

Can't wait for next week's article.

God bless