Prosperity Theology (2/3)
Last week, we began to look at Prosperity Theology, a movement which centers around the premise that God wants you to have a lot of money. Last week, we looked at some of the arguments for the doctrine, and showed some problems with its interpretation of key passages. This week, we’re going to examine the other side of the issue, showing a survey of some of the main problems and points against the doctrine.
Don’t love money
Anyone who argues against the prosperity gospel will first shore up the point that we are explicitly told not to love money.
Hebrews 13:5a
Keep your life free from the love of money…
We’ll get to the second part of that verse later, but we’ll stop here. This verse isn’t isolated; 1 Timothy 6:10 says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils. We can’t love money. Luke 16:13 adds that we can’t serve two masters…we have to serve God or serve money.
But I don’t think that, on the theoretical level, prosperity is in opposition here. Prosperity types know these verses, and they don’t want people to love money, nor do they want them to serve money. However, the danger is that on the practical level, people can really get it twisted. Now, just because people can mess up a doctrine doesn’t mean that it’s false or that we shouldn’t teach it, but that’s something to be careful of. My point here is that, while it’s easy to say that you don’t love money, telling people that getting rich is part of Christianity can really get people on the wrong track. First off, if you have no love for money, then why would you desire it, and why would you make it an emphasis of your preaching? Second, wealth can then become a measure of one’s spirituality, and people can then end up seeking God for the sake of the material, instead of seeking God and not worrying about the material.
Talking about God overshadows money by far
So, don’t love money. Okay. But what else is there? Next up is the point that material riches isn’t the most important part of our faith; in fact, it really is an afterthought. Preacher Paul Washer talked about the greatness of God and the importance of salvation, and made the point that these things are so supreme, so great, and so amazing. To say “Jesus saved you, and He wants you to be wealthy,” says Washer, is akin to saying “You just won a million dollars, and you also won this piece of bubble gum.” A powerful metaphor, but does it hold up to Scripture?
Hebrews 13:5
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Here we see the rest of the verse. I’m still going to hold off on the middle part, but isn’t it interesting that the third part is a part of this sentence? We should keep our lives free from love of money and be content with what we have, BECAUSE God is always with us and will never abandon us. The fact that God is who He is reigns supreme in the mind of the author, more than any thought of money.
Psalm 51:11-12
11 Cast me not away from you presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
This is the psalm that King David wrote after he messed up very badly and committed a whole string of sins. His concern wasn’t for his kingdom or his wealth…it was for God’s presence, God’s Spirit, and God’s salvation. Nothing else mattered but his relationship with God.
Being rich causes problems
1 Timothy 6:3-11
3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness,
4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,
5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
6 Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment,
7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.
8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.
This passage is bigger, but it gives us a lot. Verses 3 and 4 are included because it’s the beginning of a sentence that contains a phrase in verse 5 that I’m interested in. “Imagining that godliness is a means of gain.” Now, many people will tell you that they don’t see godliness as a means of gain, but in practice, it’s very difficult to separate the two. I’ve been going at this Christian thing for a few years now, and I repeatedly have to check myself to see if I’m seeking God for blessings or if I’m seeking God for God. How much harder would it be for someone who was drawn to God by the promise of riches? In my situations, I’ve just had to seek God and not worry about anything else, trusting that it would be provided for me. But how can you pursue wealth without pursuing it? If you’re truly not worrying about money and living in contentment with what you have (verse 6), then you’re content, and you won’t want the bigger car or the bigger house, right?
Some of the content in the final few verses will be emphasized in the final point. For now, see that being rich leads to temptation and can cause a host of problems. Also, look in verse 11 at the contrast between the pursuit of wealth and the pursuit of these noble things. This reminds me of a verse that I like to cite…
Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“AND all”. “And all” is not “so that,” meaning that we only have the responsibility to seek God and His righteousness. And again, I think that a lot of prosperity proponents wouldn’t disagree with that. They’d probably say something along the lines of “we don’t worry about tomorrow, we trust God and wait expectantly for His abundance to be poured out onto us.” But how much material abundance are we going to get? “These things” mentioned in the passage refer to merely food, drink, and clothing, but Jesus describes His Father’s provision for lilies of the field as greater than the vast riches of Solomon only a few verses prior. So, which is more right?
Content in all situations
This leads me to the final point, the idea that God simply wants us to be content with what we have.
Proverbs 30:8b-9
8b GIve me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9 lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
This is a beautiful prayer. Agur, the composer of these lines, doesn’t want to be on either extreme, because each face their own sets of temptations and troubles. Since we’re focusing on the wealthy side of things, we look at the real threat of forgetting God once we become wealthy. 1 Timothy 6:9 confirms this, showing that wealth leads to temptation and snares.
But more importantly, Agur is saying that he simply wants to have enough. Hebrews 13:5 and 1 Timothy 6:8, both already given above, confirm this idea that we should simply be content with what God has given us. But it was Paul who put it best, stating this:
Philippians 4:11-13
11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am in to be content.
12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
13 I can do all things though him who strengthens me.
We pull that last verse and apply it to tough goals in our lives - “I can get that big project done through Him who strengthens me,” but if we look at the context, we see that includes the darker side of life as well! “I can be tortured for my faith through Him who strengthens me.” “I can be rich through Him who strengthens me,” and “I can be poor through Him who strengthens me.” Worldly circumstances don’t matter, and I think that’s the statement of the day.
Conclusion so far
So much of Christianity exists in a spiritual realm. Ephesians 6 says that our battle isn’t against flesh and blood, Jesus’ parables put our sights on the Kingdom of God, and so much of the Bible points to a God-centered theology that makes so much of our lives about the glory of God that we don’t really care about the physical circumstances. If you can accept that, then it only makes sense that we should be content with what we have. Add that to the difficulty of desiring something that’s a snare, and wanting it without pursuing it, and you begin to see that teaching and following the Prosperity Doctrine becomes a difficult thing to do.
Next week will conclude the critique, highlighting issues and concerns that I have with prosperity theology and its application.
Grace and peace,
Brendan
