“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
John 10:10

The Prosperity Gospel

Posted on February 21, 2008, 4:18 pm, by Dustin Wright, under Faith.

“God blesses those He loves.” We’ve all heard it before. “Jesus died so that you could have financial success and be healthy.” We’ve heard that too. And I tell you what, nothing gets me more fired up than the idea, or teaching, that people deserve things from God and that God wants to make us successful in this world.

With ideas like this consuming our culture (Christian or otherwise), America is not going to save the world. We are too consumed with our things. We want bigger more glorious church buildings that touch the sky and have properties that reach as far as the eye can see. We want nicer houses and flashier cars. We want the iPhone or that new plasma. We want and want and want and want. And because that is all we want and because we don’t have preachers preaching that God is enough, we seek fulfillment in our things. And so, we get convinced that if these are the things that we desire (and we will wait in line for days for), that there must be some value in them, and so we export last generation’s models over seas, so that other people can be happy too, although they only get 30gb of happiness, we get 80gb.

I don’t think that there is a worse message that the church supports other than the idea that all of the worlds hurting and pain can be cured by the blessing called America. We think that all the world could be fixed if we could just export our culture. We think that taking vacation time from work (so that we still get paid) and heading over seas for a weeks worth of work in a third world country is going to dramatically change the lives of people living in poverty. But the convenience of our culture makes it easy to slip on our iPods to drown out the cries of the hurting, miles away, as we lounge by the pool in our upscale hotels.

My point has nothing to do with iPods or iPhones or any other iProduct. It is this: if Americans can’t decide what is truly important to them, if Christians don’t truly believe that Jesus is more important to them than their stuff, then how can we really change the world. If we see simply people who have less money than us and houses that are falling apart and have pity on them for that, but don’t see their infinitely greater spiritual need and tell them of the hope of Christ, we have failed.

The call of Christ is to desire Him above all else and to share the hope that we have in Him with others. If necessary, we are called to sell all that we have and love people for His glory. And we can do this because He is what satisfies. So when the church won’t stand up and say that, one could argue that if we can’t truly stand for Christ amongst our plenty, that it is very unlikely that we will stand for Him amongst the little of the poor? Is it that we feel sorry for them that they do not have electricity, or is it that we truly, deep down, understand that it is Christ who can satisfy them and that He is the most important thing that we can share with them?

The gospel isn’t about making lives more successful, it is about hope for eternity, hope in the midst of loss and poverty. I saw this video the other day and have been haunted by it. I think there are too few people standing up and saying the things that John Piper says in this video. And I pray that people would truly see the value of Christ, and that our love for the lost and hurting would be far stronger than our love for gadgets which fades as soon as something else catches our eyes.

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  • I just posted something that might be of interest to some of you, that I thought I needed to address in this current climate of discussion.

    The Challenge
  • Hey Joey, I appreciate your comments and I probably should have been a little more clear. I didn't say this in this post, but have it planned for a future one, but I think that missions are terribly important. But my question is if we are so consumed with our stuff, can we really see that Jesus is of such great value that selling all of our stuff and quiting our jobs to move to and live with hurting people to be Christ to them is anywhere in our thoughts?

    I am not arguing that doing a mission trip is bad, I am arguing that breaking our attachments to our stuff can make us far more valuable for the gospel to the needy. I am arguing that if people truly see the value of Christ, their iPods and Xboxes and tvs will pale in comparison and it fact be counted to us as rubbish. Enabling us to give up on this lifestyle and sell it all and give it to the poor and then make it our life's mission to be Christ to people in need, not held back by our stuff. I am arguing that although a weeks long mission trip might transform our lives, a lifelong mission could change the lives of many others who are hurting.

    I think it is too easy for us to ignore the cries of the hurting by turning away from them and turning on some music or a video game as a distraction. The paragraph you quoted was meant to show the irony of our culture when taken on mission. It was intended to show that we can never truly understand what its like to be poor and live in houses that are falling apart when we help them during the day or week or whatever, and go to our homes or hotels and be able to wash away or feelings by watching some American Idol in our air conditioned rooms.
  • D...

    I have read my post a number of times now, as well as your original post. If I have misunderstood, then please let me know. I understand your disdain for America's consumerism. I understand how it can shield our eyes from the brokeness of the world. What I wanted to make sure of was that you were clear that in our culture at North, any week of work we give is framed correctly and spiritually. I just sensed some cyncism and wanted to confront that. I love you brother, and I hope I have not hurt you with my post. It was not meant to be toxic, but direct. I think you can appreciate that.
  • "We think that taking vacation time from work (so that we still get paid) and heading over seas for a weeks worth of work in a third world country is going to dramatically change the lives of people living in poverty. But the convenience of our culture makes it easy to slip on our iPods to drown out the cries of the hurting, miles away, as we lounge by the pool in our upscale hotels."

    What does that paragraph have to do with the Piper video?

    Are you saying that you don't understand why a church/congregation would take time away to love on some people that are in need, not just less than us-but real need? Maybe you are unclear as to those trips' goals... in the name of Christ we build, feed, comfort, treat, and fellowhip.

    Do you think Christ would have any concern for that land? Have you ever taken a week's worth of time away from your job/family to spend with people in an impoverished land? It helps achieve the very thing you preach against in your post. It frames your 'wealth' very nicely. As a matter of fact, I would submit that a week's worth of time in DR would force you to rethink your own list of 'things.' It did for me. That is just ONE benefit for me, as selfish as it sounds. To work with people less than me helps me become grateful, or better yet, willing to let go... but that's just one benefit.

    D... don't think for a minute that our church, and I know you didn't say this - but you came very close, is more concerned about people's creature comforts in extremely imporverished areas like Africa, SE Asia, Central America, et al than it is about their enternal comfort. I just know that when you read the Bible, Jesus Christ himself met the physical need first then almost simultaneously dealt with the eternal need. The two went hand in hand. I don't see him standing off in the shadows condemning people like the Pharisees... he touched them - he wept over their need - and yes, he died for their ultimate need.

    I, too, hate the prosperity gospel. It breaks my heart. It has sold our very own countrymen a way to have their cake and eat it too, and sadly the world is trying to punch their ticket to the American Dream. That isn't the cross we are to carry... it isn't a cross at all. Just please be careful in assuming that when churches send teams that "take vacation time from work (so that we still get paid) and heading over seas for a week's worth of work" are falling into that snare of perpetuating the American way of life - a life of entitlement.

    Maybe you need to go on the DR trip to put your mind/heart at rest. Tell you what, I will leave my iPod here (yes I have one) and you leave your XBox and plasma TV at your place and let's just see what God does. Deal? Let's go tell some people that are dying from disease, dying from extreme poverty that fails to produce any sort of nutrition for their family, and dying from their own sin about a Savior that will provide everything they need... a cure to the hole in their heart. You just may have to show them how much you love them before they hear how much Christ loves them.
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