Prosperity Gospel - Part 2 of 2
As I mentioned in the blog last week, all of us are likely guilty of falling prey to some aspects of the Prosperity Gospel. Today I want to look further into how we can avoid the confusion that this theology can create for each of us by focusing on some key truths that we need to apply in our own lives to try and avoid this mindset:
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
As part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us very clearly that we cannot have two masters - God and money. Since slaves were common back then, this was a very familiar concept to them since they would know that a slave always belongs to his one master and no one else.
If we buy in to the “prosperity gospel,” we are essentially making money the master and God the servant since His job is to bless us as we live out our “good Christian lives.” The true gospel has it the other way around with God as the master and money as the servant. I love the quote below from circus showman P.T. Barnum. He captures the biblical theme behind Jesus’ words as well as the practical insight into the fact that we can do a lot of great things with money when its handled correctly.
“Money is a terrible master, but an excellent servant.” P.T. Barnum
Our other two truths are illustrated in this passage from Luke. Jesus is speaking with his disciples shortly after he miraculously fed the five thousand with fishes and loaves:
Luke 6:23-25 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?
Jesus was calling his disciples to follow him. For them this meant “follow” in every sense of the word since were leaving their lives as they knew them and faced all of the hostile consequences in doing so.
We are also called to be followers of Christ. As a follower, self-denial and some aspects of suffering are fundamental parts of a Christian’s life. It is in these times that God often does his work in us and our greatest growth occurs. Alternatively, the Prosperity Gospel de-emphasizes both self-denial and suffering. It takes a view of suffering as punishment from God instead of it being an instrument for our good and His glory. The avoidance of all suffering seems to be the goal. Additionally, self-denial is not viewed as a godly necessity because of the emphasis that the Prosperity Gospel puts on God’s “reward system.”
Jesus suffered and denied himself many things. As followers of Christ, we too will experience this necessary part of life. None of us desire or look forward to these times but the true gospel calls us to have a different mindset about them. Following Jesus means taking on His likeness and there are times when that produces suffering and self-denial in our lives. That is the theology of the Cross.
Jesus is not our butler; He is our Savior.
Lastly, how we spend our time is another aspect of determining if we have bought in to certain aspects of the Prosperity Gospel. Enjoying godly pleasures is a gift from God but it cannot be the singular focus of our lives. Our culture promotes personal self-fulfillment above all else and the Prosperity Gospel promotes this mentality as well. We all love to do the things that we enjoy and be entertained but is our love of these things out of balance?
A question that we all need to ask ourselves is - how much do we value spiritual wealth? The answer to that question will be answered by our weekly calendar. Do we place a priority on worship, small group community and personal devotional time? If our calendar’s don’t reflect that then we may need to re-evaluate our priorities.
It’s easy to get lulled to sleep by prosperity thinking because it often wears the uniform of happiness and achievement. These are good things but not always part of our walk with God.
The bottom line is that the Prosperity Gospel becomes about us rather than God. It is about our agenda and desires and what He can do for us.
The true gospel places the focus of worship on God, what we can do for Him and pursuing His will for our lives. And that makes all of the difference…
Stay Hungry,
Big E