Chris Knight
The prosperity gospel can be appealing for a pretty understandable reason. It takes things nearly all of us want, good health, financial security, successful children and fewer problems, and connects them directly to faith. The basic message is that if you have enough faith, speak the right words, give generously and obey God, you can expect health, wealth and success. It is basically Christianity with a rewards program. Pray enough, give enough, believe enough and apparently you start earning points toward the upgraded life.
What makes this teaching convincing is that there is just enough biblical truth in it to sound right.
The Bible absolutely teaches that God blesses His people. James tells us, “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father” (James 1:17, NLT). Scripture teaches generosity, faithful stewardship, prayer and trusting God to provide. Proverbs also shows that wisdom, hard work and responsible living often produce better outcomes than foolishness. So the prosperity gospel did not invent the idea of God’s blessing. The problem is how it defines blessing and what it promises we should expect.
God’s blessing cannot simply be measured by our bank account, physical health or how smoothly life is going. If it could, we would have a difficult time explaining Jesus. He said, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20, NLT). Paul experienced beatings, imprisonment, hunger and hardship while faithfully following Christ (2 Corinthians 11:23-28). Apparently nobody told Paul that stronger faith was supposed to come with better accommodations and a larger retirement account.
Jesus also warned us against making wealth the measure of God’s favor. He said, “You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money” (Matthew 6:24, NLT). The New Testament prepares followers of Jesus for sacrifice, suffering and perseverance. It never promises that enough faith will produce a comfortable life. That is where prosperity teaching becomes dangerous. It can quietly turn our relationship with God into a transaction. I give, so God owes me. I believe, so God must heal me. I obey, so God must make me successful. Worse, when suffering comes, hurting people may wonder whether they simply did not have enough faith. That is not the gospel Jesus preached.
Jesus did not come to make us wealthy, healthy and comfortable. He came to save us from sin, reconcile us to God and transform us into people who reflect His character. God certainly provides. Sometimes He gives financial abundance, physical healing and remarkable opportunities. We should pray boldly and receive those gifts gratefully. But we should never measure God’s goodness by whether life turns out the way we hoped.
Eventually, that brings the question pretty close to home. Would Jesus still be enough if the blessing I am praying for never comes? Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34, NLT). Enjoy God’s blessings and thank Him for every good thing He places in your hands. Just do not confuse the gifts with the Giver. Hold the gifts loosely and hold tightly to Jesus. Faith is not about convincing God to give us the life we want. It is surrendering our lives to Him and discovering that whether He gives abundantly, asks us to wait or walks with us through something we desperately wish He would change, Jesus is still good, Jesus is still faithful and Jesus is still enough.