the blink times

A recent controversy involving a prominent local church got me thinking about the impact of prosperity theology among the faithful today. Many Christians use the word “blessing” rather loosely. More often than not, we are over-exposed to testimonies of individuals who have experienced material gain. By the use of the word “material”, our present frame of reference would naturally relate this to money. Indeed, most of the things that we ask and get from God, do involve a great deal of money. While there is nothing wrong with expressing our gratitude for all the good we get from above (we should always give thanks in any circumstance), it is quite another matter, when financial gain is used as a selling point to get people to give, or even believe…in the Son of God.

The gospel according to the prosperity preachers, is fundamentally based on a few verses that are in my opinion, exploited for the benefit of our consumerist society. For example:

The miracle of the five loaves and two fishes (John 6: 5-15): A young boy offers his share of bread and fish to Jesus, who prays and feeds it to five thousand people. Twelve baskets of barley loaves are left over. The sheer up-size of the boy’s offering is often used to motivate the masses to give and expect bigger things.

Malachi’s prophecy (Malachi 3:10): The prophet warns the children of Israel about the consequences of robbing God and says that the “Lord Almighty will thrown open the floodgates and pour out so much blessing that that you will not have room enough for it”. Again, it is not about the act of tithing, but rather the consequence of tithing vis-à-vis money that has become the key marketing message.

As thin as the line may seem, it always pays to remember that God is never a vending machine. Cheques in the offering bag will not give us the desires of our heart. In fact, if we desire more money, or a better financial position, we might just be asking for the wrong things. The scriptures have never been clearer, when it comes to the issue of God and money:

“You cannot serve both God and Money” – Matthew 6:24

“For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” – 1 Timothy 6:10

When the rich young ruler (a man who had everything else right) walked away because he could not bear to part with his riches, Christ gave his disciples a metaphor of absolute impossibility.

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” - Matthew 19:24.

Are those who claim that we can have both God and great riches, trying to get the camel into the needle’s eye?

The question of whether Christians should be rich (or should be condemned because they are rich) is still subject to debate. The desire for wealth, however, is definitely incompatible with the teachings of Christ. As believers, we should not expect a windfall whenever we take the initiative to obey; prophets and missionaries have devoted their lives to absolute obedience and were martyred for it. At the same time, it is also foolish to deliberately devote ourselves to abject poverty, as that will lead us to cultivate a covetous attitude.

I shall conclude with an excerpt from Proverbs 30. I personally feel it is especially meaningful, because it describes, in very human and realistic terms, the attitude that every believer ought to cultivate, with regards to the material things in life.

“Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.” (v8-9)