Right now one of the fads of our culture is to hate preachers who speak about prosperity. Both the heathen and many pastors of our day are in agreement on this. They go out of their way to spread their stance that prosperity preachers are of the devil. Now I am not defending anyone who has misused the Bible or misrepresented Christ in preaching prosperity out of balance. But I am concerned when so many people are coming out against prosperity. Let’s take a moment to reflect on this.
First of all, has the Bible been misused at any time to manipulate people? Yes. The Bible itself warns of such people who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From the dark ages practice of the Catholics selling “indulgences” to modern day antics of selling a blessing for an offering—The Holy Bible is not to be used as a fundraising gimmick. I believe we can all agree on that. But the Bible also warns of hypocrisy. People who preach against something and yet do that very same thing.
As I reflect on what is happening in our society I have a few questions. When heathen and preachers are agreeing on something; that raises a red flag for me. Why are preachers suddenly aligning themselves with the belief system of those who do not fear God? And the biggest question I have is to examine the lives of the critics themselves. If you look at the life of a prosperity critic—most of the time you find someone who is already prosperous. Recently I heard a preacher shouting at the top of his lungs into a microphone against preachers of prosperity. But a quick inspection of this same preacher’s social media shows them arriving to a meeting in a $500,000+ USD tour bus and at other times driving a luxury full size SUV. They are being highly critical of someone else who may be considered “more prosperous” than themselves while themselves living a very good life by preaching the Gospel.
I have had minister friends come to my church to minister and they preached on prosperity. Other ministers in our area criticized our church and that man of God. But once again—a quick examination of their lives shows abundant prosperity. One of those critical men shows on his social media pictures of his meal at a very expensive restaurant that would have topped more than $150 per person. Another owns an estate valued over one million USD. So who are they to criticize prosperity?
I have made a few calls over the years to different well-known ministers or Christian musicians to inquire about having them come to our church to minister. I am always shocked that some of them have minimum offering requirement into the tens of thousands of dollars for a single hour of ministry. And I get even more shocked when I hear that same person preaching against prosperity. They themselves have a large net worth while preaching against prosperity. I don’t understand.
Most critics of prosperity are already prosperous!!! They are simply preaching against people who are MORE PROSPEROUS than themselves. Prosperity is good for them as long as it does not exceed what they have. That is the measuring stick they use. But that is an unjust measurement.
I get tired of seeing Americans driving expensive cars, living in large houses with electricity, indoor plumbing, multiple bathrooms, air conditioning, luxury finishes, with our children using the latest i-phones and then acting like God is against prosperity. Many of these same critics are stingy toward the things of God. They have no problem dropping thousands at Disney but have a hard time parting with a twenty-dollar bill for a missionary. This is the definition of hypocrisy.
Here’s the deal: we need to be prosperous to be able to finance the end-time harvest for Christ. Unless one is willing to live like the Amish I don’t believe anyone should be critical of prosperity without risking being a hypocrite. But to do the work that God has asked us to do—we need people who are healthy with their finances.
Romans 12 speaks of ministering the gifts that we have been called to. One of the gifts listed is the gift of giving. There are people who have a very special spiritual gift that they can give in large quantities to make major impacts for the Kingdom of God. That’s a God-given gift according to the Bible. In order to give big you have to posses big!!!!
I am reminded of the Good Samaritan. At the drop of a hat he completely financed a man’s recovery from theft and assault. He paid for clothes, medical care, hotel stay, and food for several days for a man he did not even know. This would have cost thousands in today’s money. What does Jesus tell us to do? Go and do likewise. You can’t do that kind of service unless you are prosperous.
So the next time you hear someone knocking prosperity take a good look at their life. Do they own a late model car? Do they own a cell phone valued over $500? Do they use air conditioning? Do they own more than 2 outfits? If so—they believe in prosperity. They are just upset that someone else is more prosperous than them. That’s the root of it. Don’t let that person talk you out of the blessing of God on your life and the subsequent work you can do for God with that blessing!
