ZA MAGAZINE // seek truth.

Over the past two weeks, we’ve taken a closer look at prosperity theology. We looked at some proof texts that, while largely misused, demonstrate a certain connection between blessings from God and physical wealth. However, in the second week, we found out through Scripture that money (or any physical circumstance) is really secondary to spiritual things.

This week, admittedly, is less based on Scripture and more based on observations. I’ve exposed myself to prosperity teachings a little bit, and I’ve heard from extremes and moderates. I’ve examined some of the teachings on a theoretical level, and I’ve seen how these teachings play out practically. Don’t think I’m an expert, because I’m certainly not!

But these are the list of critiques I’ve found during my research and observations of prosperity teachings. Please note that you can’t use all of these to label people. A great example is the one where I talk about how prosperity teaching can make people uncaring towards the poor. This can happen, but there are certainly examples where this hasn’t been the case.

I want to cite my sources so you know that I’m not making stuff up, but I also don’t wish to make personal attacks; that’s not my purpose. I don’t want this to be about attacking individuals; it’s the doctrine that I’m interested in. Please trust that I quoted as well as I could!

Tone

One issue I have with prosperity teachings is the tone. In researching arguments in favor of the doctrine, I came across this aside: “(Imagine that a God who wants it to go well with people who serve him, what a concept.)” Another man, when preaching on the subject, started his closing prayer with “Father God, forgive me for thinking wrong, for listening to others who are confused…” and then goes on to call people who disagree with his teaching “ungodly people, covetous people, hypocritical people, unstable, ignorant, [and] confused people.” While it may not be typical (and, to be fair, the noisier people do attract more attention), this hint of arrogance hurts the witness of the people who preach it and it hurts the ability to speak rationally about the topic. If one claims to be speaking the truth, see if they speak it in love.

Avoids problems

Another problem is that it downplays the problems that Christians are guaranteed to have. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 declares that “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Timothy 3:12 says that “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” While persecution can be addressed, it’s generally more about being ostracized for one’s faith rather than having our physical well-being harmed. This is probably a result of living in a country where there is next to zero threat of persecution.

A passage in Hebrews sums this one up well:

Hebrews 11:32-40
32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets-
33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.
36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated-
38 of whom the world was not worthy-wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised,
40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

This is from the “Hall of Faith” chapter - a place where some people prospered and some people left prosperity. Some people did great feats, some died after torture. But none of that is the point - the point is the “something better” for us - Jesus!

If verses of prosperity are to be taught, then it’s equally important that people know about the other side of the coin.

Salvation for the wrong reasons

If people come to salvation in hopes of being wealth, it is my fear (though not my conviction) that their salvation will be false. Read this analogy given in a sermon called “Hell’s Best Kept Secret.”

Two men are seated in a plane. The first is given a parachute and told to put is on as it would improve his
flight. He’s a little skeptical at first because he can’t see how wearing a parachute in a plane could possibly improve the flight. After a time he decides to experiment and see if the claim is true. As he puts it on he notices the weight of it upon his shoulders and he finds that he has difficulty in sitting upright. However, he consoles himself with the fact that he was told the parachute would improve the flight. So, he decides to give the thing a little time. As he waits he notices that some of the other passengers are laughing at him, because he’s wearing a parachute in a plane. He begins to feel somewhat humiliated. As they begin to point and laugh at him and he can stand it no longer, he slinks in his seat, unstraps the parachute, and throws it to the floor. Disillusionment and bitterness fill his heart, because, as far as he was concerned, he was told an outright lie.

The second man is given a parachute, but listen to what he’s told. He’s told to put it on because at any moment he’d be jumping 25,000 feet out of the plane. He gratefully puts the parachute on; he doesn’t notice the weight of it upon his shoulders, nor that he can’t sit upright. His mind is consumed with the thought of what would happen to him if he jumped without that parachute.

The sermon is a foundation for repentance preaching, and while it might not be a perfect message, this analogy is great. Wearing the parachute is pointless unless you know why you’re wearing it, and the greatest purpose of Christianity is not to be rich now, but to get saved, know God, and go to heaven. If people follow God for reasons other than that, they’re going to have a tough time bearing the cross of Christ in the world.

Individualistic

Another issue with prosperity teaching is that it tends to focus on the individual. Reading the New Testament shows a radical community that shared everything with everybody; listening to a prosperity gospel sermon tells me that I have to have faith so that I can be rich, that MY coffers can be full. It shifts the focus away from the poor and puts it all on your own faith. A view of this criticism is quoted as such: “It is intrinsically unfair, leading to apathy for the poor’s needs because one assumes that because if God rewards the righteous with earthly riches, the poor deserve their position.” This is a good bridge to my next point.

Secular influence

Another issue with the doctrine is that its influence by secular forces is a bit too strong. Its ties to the Law of Attraction are apparent, and its ties to Western individualism and the American Dream are pretty obvious. Also, it’s too new; the fact that such teachings have been (as far as I can tell) absent from Christianity for 1900 years certainly does not help prosperity’s case. This doesn’t disprove it, but precedent does help.

Contempt of a lifestyle of poverty

Another issue with prosperity teaching is an apparent contempt of poverty. When someone says “Imagine that a God who wants it to go well with people who serve him, what a concept,” there’s the implication that if someone isn’t rich, then they’re not going well. Another person, one of the more prominent proponents of the prosperity gospel, is quoted as saying, “Who would want to get in on something where you’re miserable, poor, broke, and ugly and you just have to muddle through until you get to heaven?” Besides making an implication that ugly people are being a bad witness, this preacher is tying ‘poor’ and ‘miserable’ together.

Wealth as a witness

The second quote in the last paragraph leads me to another issue with prosperity - it includes wealth as part of a Christian’s witness, something that the Bible doesn’t support. I heard an analogy that compared non-prosperity teachings to a rich father who presented his children to friends, and they were all dirty, unkempt, hungry, and dressed in rags. The point was that just as that father would look bad, so God would look bad unless He properly clothes His children. The idea here is that rich Christians makes Christianity more attractive; it proves the reality and power of God. But this appeal to common sense has no basis in Scripture. In fact, it was God who made a spectacle of His Son by having Him hang on a cross, and it was Jesus who said that it was the unity of the believers - the love shown to each other despite circumstance - that would uphold His reality (John 17:21). What’s more, prosperity’s claim marginalizes Job, who, after losing everything, declared “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). It marginalizes the author of the famous hymn “It Is Well with My Soul,” who wrote that lyric after losing all of his children and his wealth. Giving credit to God for blessings can be a good witness, but it isn’t a definitive witness, and it certainly isn’t the only one. In fact, many of the leaders of the early church were poor. Paul stated that he knew how to live in all scenarios - rich or poor, hungry or full. Also, when Paul speaks of “extreme poverty” in the Macedonian church (2 Corinthians 8), he doesn’t chide them for their poverty but commends their generosity, despite their circumstances.

Stumbling block

We looked at a passage in 1 Timothy 6 which highlighted a problem with riches - they can become a snare. People can get trapped in their wealth. I won’t harp this point since I’ve already written about it, but when you get nice stuff, ask the question: “Can I give it up?” If you have a nice car, would you lend it to your brother in a heartbeat, not concerned if it got wrecked into a wall? There’s some limitations to that question, but I think you get the point. Having possessions is one thing, but it’s when we get attached to those possessions that we start the descent into worldliness.

A false dilemma

A bigger issue with the teaching of prosperity is that most people will take Biblical promises that God will provide for our needs, and then turn that into a doctrine which states that we are meant to be rich. It’s a false dilemma: Either live in decrepit poverty or strive to be really rich. Out of this false dilemma, we see another concern. Though prosperity does teach that Jesus comes before the riches, it becomes clear that this dilemma implies that the riches involve Jesus; that is, if a church or a person is claiming this doctrine and is rich, then they must be really close to God. This denigrates the work of people like St. Francis of Assisi and Mother Teresa, people who did incredible work for the Lord with practically no money to their name.

Not the point

But my biggest concern with the wave of prosperity teaching is that it takes too much attention away from other key Christian doctrines. If we allow the name “prosperity gospel” to stand, then it really is “another Gospel,” and is ultimately distracting people from the real one, the one about Jesus and His death and His resurrection and His salvation. This is the one that matters. Prosperity tends to focus on the riches of heaven instead of the Jesus in heaven, and to do so takes our eyes off of the prize.

Conclusion

We’ve shown by the Scriptures that God really does want us to be rich, if we don’t strictly define rich in material terms. He really does want us to have abundant life, if ‘abundant life’ isn’t reinterpreted to mean ‘a big bank account.’ The fact that the teaching of the prosperity gospel distorts Scripture and distracts us from the spiritual side of life should give us serious pause before we get on board with its teachings and those who espouse them.

But who am I? Just one man. I’ve done my homework, I’ve looked for objectivity, and I’ve tried to represent the subject of my critique as well as possible. However, if you feel as though I have made some serious errors, feel free to comment. This is a critique, not an outright condemnation, and I’d love to hear people respond to the arguments that I’ve made. I don’t want ZA Magazine to criticize everything that’s remotely on the fringe of Christianity, but some of this teaching has disturbed my spirit and has compelled me to speak. I hope my tone has been even-handed, and that responses would come in the same way.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you’re rich or if you’re poor. Seriously! It has no bearing on your entrance into the kingdom and it has no bearing on your witness in the world. So let’s not get too bent out of shape here, and let’s not put too much focus on something that is ultimately pretty trivial.

Grace and peace,
Brendan