Prosperity

The past few days I have been wrestling with a big theological issue. I never knew it was a controversial topic in the church until I read an article in Time magazine and until a good friend of mine took an opposing side from what I believe to be true. So when confronted with a new idea, I took it to prayer, study of the Word, and research. Please weigh in and let me know your thoughts.

The article is from the September 18th issue and is titled, "Does God Want You to Be Rich?" I discovered there are several huge churches in this country that proclaim that one of God's top priorities is to shower blessings on believers, and we should not accept anything less than what we are entitled to as God's children. This message is called Word of Faith, Health and Wealth, Name It and Claim It, or the new term--Prosperity Lite. The emphasis is on personal financial gain that supposedly our heavenly Father is more than willing to bestow upon us if we would only ask. Opponents describe it as "materialism framed in a kind of Tony Robbins positivism." The premise is that Jesus promised an abundant life and "abundant" is interpreted to include money and possessions. One pastor even says, "God wants you to own land. ..Land represents that God is with you and God has blessed you." The article says this is peculiarly an American theology but I was told it is popular in Singapore too, another wealthy, materialistic society.

A now deceased pastor was one of the granddaddies of this teaching. He wrote a book on financial prosperity and I read enough of it to get the gist of his ideas. He says poverty and sickness are a curse while prosperity and good health are indications of God's blessings. He believes people are poor because they have dishonored God in their way of living. He said his ideas came by way of revelation from God to claim whatever he wanted and speak it out in faith. (Name it and claim it.) The last chapter is "Godliness is Profitable for All Things." He says godliness ensures protection (tell that to the Amish families), godliness ensures promotion, godliness ensures perpetuity (long life), and godliness ensures prosperity. He lists why some don't prosper financially--laziness, extravagance and excesses, and poor management. The back cover states, "God wants His people to prosper financially...many Christians have never entered into the dimension of prosperity that God intended for them." Highlights in bullets say: How to eat the good of the land, Your authority in Christ concerning finances, How to release your faith for finances and The role of honoring your pastor so you can walk in prosperity. (You can guess what that section is about.) As with any false doctrine, there is always an element of truth to bring a measure of confusion.

Is this liberating news for the poor, or is it offensive and exploitive? What does the Word say? Specifically, what does Jesus say?