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Extract from my book Go! Does God want me rich or poor?

wwasakee

You can find out more about the book Go! and the journey to mountain moving faith and if interested purchase it at Amazon.


This seemingly simple question is not so simple to address. For example: do we have the poor Christ of Calcutta or is he the God of prosperity?


Let me cut to the chase. Having money or wealth can be very dangerous for a Christian. “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” (1 Tim 6: 10 NLT).


Even worse, money can cause you to lose heaven. Jesus said: “Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19: 24 (NIV).


So, you Christian must watch money very carefully, like a hawk, lest it wraps its iron claws around you…


…and yet the dilemma is:


· The Bible shows that God wants us to be prosperous, often financially. A popular Bible verse says: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV). This prosperity seems to be both financial and spiritual.

·We need wealth to do Christian work such as feeding the poor, treating the sick, visiting those in prison (see Matthew 25:37-39) as well as evangelising to make disciples of all nations (See Matthew 28: 19-20) particularly for many remote areas!


So how do we resolve this dilemma? What does the Bible teach about wealth?


The poor Christ of Calcutta


Jesus seemed to especially love the poor. For example, when he began his public ministry, quoting from the scriptures he started thus: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. Luke 4: 18 (NIV).


In another place, after Jesus prayed all night, power was coming from him and healing everyone. That is the time when he said the anointed words commonly referred to as the beatitudes:


Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

Luke 6: 20- 21 (NIV).


Jesus himself was born to poor parents who couldn’t afford a lamb for the required sacrifice and so instead they offered pigeons. In fact, the traditional view has been to associate Jesus with one who was poor and cared for the poor, perhaps like Mother Teresa in the slums of Calcutta, hence the “Poor Christ of Calcutta”.


The God of prosperity


Many people today however increasingly say Jesus was wealthy and he likewise wants you to prosper financially. Those who say Jesus was rich are often called “the prosperity gospel preachers.”


One Washington Post article calls the prosperity gospel one of the “worst ideas of the decade”. It mentions its promoters to be many of the popular ministers such as Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, Frederick K.C. Price, Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, T.D. Jakes and Creflo Dollar.[i]


Another article says that the prosperity gospel has its roots in an American occult tradition called “New Thought” and that a 2006 Times poll found that:


· 17% of American Christians identify explicitly with the prosperity gospel movement.

· 31% espouse the idea that “if you give your money to God, God will bless you with more money.”

· 61% agree with the more general idea that “God wants people to be prosperous.”[ii]


A prominent Bible college says the following in support of the God of prosperity view: “Poverty is not godly, if poverty were godly, then the homeless people living on the streets would be the godliest people on the face of the earth. And that’s just not true. God doesn't want you poor. He died to make you rich! (2 Cor. 8:9)” [iii]


Are the prosperity gospel teachers right? Does God want you rich?


From the Bible, for example, in the Old Testament there are many verses which seem to indeed show that wealth is evidence of God’s blessing. For example:


“You will be called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God. You will feed on the treasures of the nations and boast in their riches. Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.” Isaiah 61:6-7 NLT

In the New Testament, Jesus occasionally attended public parties and feasts (see Luke 5:29-32; John 2:1-11), accepted invitations to dine with the rich and powerful (see Luke 11:37; 14:1-6), used investment banking analogies in order to illustrate his parables (see Matt 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27), and on more than one occasion, graciously received costly gifts from his followers (see Luke 7:36-39; John 12:1-3).[iv]


Also, several wealthy people were instrumental in advancing God’s kingdom for example: Matthew (Luke 5:27–29), Joanna (Luke 8:3), Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57), Zacchaeus (Luke 19:8), and Lydia (Acts 16:14–15) were all individuals of great means who were called by God for a special work and who used their wealth for a righteous cause.[v]


How does the Bible resolve the dilemma of wealth?


The Bible in a famous chapter on faith describes how “ancient people” or the “heroes of faith” lived. It starts: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” Hebrews 11: 1- 2 (NIV).

[i]https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/opinions/outlook/worst-ideas/prosperity-gospel.html [ii]https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/9/1/15951874/prosperity-gospel-explained-why-joel-osteen-believes-prayer-can-make-you-rich-trump [iii]https://www.charisBiblecollege.org/blogs/charis-blog/2017/5/24/poverty-is-not-godly [iv]https://intersectproject.org/faith-and-economics/what-did-jesus-really-teach-about-wealth-and-poverty/ [v]https://intersectproject.org/faith-and-economics/what-did-jesus-really-teach-about-wealth-and-poverty/


..... end of extract....


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