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The Prosperity Gospel
Posted on May 28th, 2012 No commentsThere is something else meaningless that occurs on earth:
righteous men who get what the wicked deserve,
and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve.
Ecclesiastes 8:14
What’s the difference between the prosperity gospel and just believing God’s promises?
The thing that drew me to the Beginning of Wisdom is that it’s to be used as a forum where we can mentor and help one another grow in our Christian faith. I guess my word of wisdom for today is discernment, and I need your help in discerning rightly. Please do use the “comment” section to give me some advice.
I watch several televangelists. Many, in varying degrees, talk about believing God for health & prosperity; and they make it seem like all we have to do is know God’s Word, meditate on it, pray it back to God, and then God is obliged us to give us what we want (whether it’s a healing, a job, money to pay a bill, a prospering business, a new house, etc.) because God cannot go back on his word. They point to all the scriptures which indicate that God will give us anything that we ask, as long as we ask according to His will. Of course, they say, that it is God’s will for us to be healthy & prosperous, because if we, being wicked, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will the Lord do for us? One pastor, that I have a great deal of respect for, gave a sermon series based on Psalm 92:12-14. He was making the case that the promise that we will stay “fresh & green” means that we will be healthy, strong, youthful looking, and prosperous; and that we will proper despite the downturn in the economy. So does that all Christians should have a job, a job that they like, a job that pays well, a business that has a lot of customers; and what does it say about us as Christians if we don’t?
On the other hand, the saints really suffered. Even though the accounts are not written about in the Bible, I am told that all the disciples except for John were martyred. Stephen was martyred. Paul spent a whole lot of time in jail. Early Christians were persecuted. Before he became Paul, Saul was one of their persecutors; and this is all after Christ ascended into heaven.
So please, let me know, what are the real promises of God? I look forward to hearing from you all.
3 responses to “The Prosperity Gospel”
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I believe that the majority of televangelists act like God is Santa Claus. They preach that if we stay on His “nice list” He will give us whatever things we ask for. That is NOT what the bible says! Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourselves in the Lord
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wifedoll47 May 29th, 2012 at 00:11
and He will tend to your heart’s desires”.
I love the way The Message reads in Psalm 37:4-5, it says, “Keep company with God, get in on the best. 5 Open up before God, keep nothing back; he’ll do whatever needs to be done”. If we “keep company with God” he will give us what we truly desire in this life and I believe that when we learn to start counting the blessings God’s given us & start really trusting God with our deepest desires, he will begin to fulfill our other needs and desires as long as our motive for asking is a Godly one. So does that mean He’ll give us everything we ask for in prayer? Not necessarily. The scripture doesn’t promise that God will give us everything we ask for, but it does say that He will do whatever needs to be done for us.
Sometimes it feels like our prayers are not being answered when we are asking for God to meet our “carnal needs”. God knows what each of us TRULY desires. My true desires are for my children and husband to be healthy, to know who they truly are in Christ, to always know they are loved and accepted and to have a close relationship with the Lord. Some of the things people ask God for are, a new car, wealth, winning lottery numbers, a more upscale house, etc…and their motive if often “carnal” in nature and comes from wrong motives.Are you keeping company with the Lord? Praising Him? Spending time with Him each day in prayer? Staying in His Word? If so, then you can be assured that He is tending to the true desires of your heart and probably blessing you in many other ways, as well.
Discovering this truth for yourself will give you true happiness and a lasting contentment that the shiny, earthly desires of our hearts can’t give.
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rhonda May 29th, 2012 at 08:53
Thanks for the comment. What would your advice be to a Christian who is either chronically sick or just scraping by financially?
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wifedoll47 May 28th, 2012 at 23:21