Hey there friend,
Today’s email might be a little bit of a hot topic…
But since I run and operate my own business, it’s something I get asked about a lot.
Do I follow/support/advocate the prosperity gospel?
The short answer is no – I do not.
Not only that, but I believe that it should be avoided.
Now… do I want to provide a life of safety and security for my family?
Do I want to have the means to give back to others and donate to worthy causes?
Yes! Of course I do!
But when it comes to prosperity gospel…
I just don’t agree with the belief that holiness and wealth are related.
And I don’t believe that wealth, abundance, and material possessions should be thought of as rewards for faith in Jesus.
The ability to have a relationship with Him.. to follow in His path and spread His love to others…
These things are the reward in themselves.
And any reward there is to be had for being a faithful servant definitely is not waiting for us here on Earth.
I think the Book of Job serves as the perfect example of this.
Job was considered one of the most righteous men of his time.
In fact God himself says: “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
Yet in Job 1:13-19, we read that God let Satan take away Job’s material wealth anyway — going even one step further and taking away his children too.
If the prosperity gospel held true… would Job not have been blessed with further riches and health, given how righteous he was?
Where were the material blessings that were “owed” to him for being a good servant?
You see, it took Job losing everything to learn a very important lesson:
God is not obligated to respond with any sort of material reward in exchange for our faith, and that He is above all sovereign.
We see another response to those who preach the prosperity gospel in 1 Timothy 6:6-11:
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
Now again…
Is it wrong to want a better life for your family? Must we be poor in order to be righteous?
Of course not!
But “wealth” and holiness should not be thought connected, and riches definitely shouldn’t serve as a motivator or a sense of entitlement to the other…
Plus, there’s a huge difference between wanting security for your loved ones or wanting the means to go out and serve…
And wanting private jets, million dollar homes, and luxury cars.
If anything, I think that these items are wasteful and do not show good stewardship.
I also believe that flaunting wealth and possessions as a display of how much one has been blessed is only a display of pride and greed…
And asking others to follow in that behavior is only pulling them further from the true path God sets out for us.
Well that’s all I have for today…
But I’m interested to hear, what are your thoughts on all this?
Just click “reply” to let me know and I’m happy to chat 🙂
Your brother in Christ,
Cory
P.S. Interested in joining our community of Digital Tentmakers?
It’s the best way I know of to buy back your time, be free to go serve, and provide more for our families.
And our success comes through hard work, dedication, and perseverance — not by tying it into our faith!
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