According to the Christian Science Monitor, some Christians believe that wealth is a blessing from God. This is the so-called “prosperity gospel.” Where the hell do they get that idea from? I have not read much of the Bible, but what little I’ve read seems to suggest that wealth is not a blessing but a test of moral character.
The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. – Matthew 19:20-24
Understandably, people get hung up on the vivid image of the camel and the needle. Maybe the camel is a kind of rope. Or maybe the camel really is a camel but the needle is a low, narrow gate. And so we’re distracted from the clarity of Christ’s advice to the young rich man to sell off his possessions, give to the poor and follow Him.
The Gospel Coalition lists five errors of the prosperity gospel. It’s very well worth reading. The five errors are:
- Misunderstanding the covenant of Abraham as a means to material entitlement.
- Thinking that the atonement of Jesus extends to the “sin” of material poverty.
- Thinking that we give things to the church in order to get things in return.
- Placing too much importance on our own spiritual force and not enough on God’s.
- Focusing too much on our shallow desires and not enough on God’s will.
These errors generally seem to come about from finding Bible verses that seem to support the prosperity gospel, then ignoring what comes after, and in some cases what comes before.
From what I’ve read of the Bible, my understanding is that we should do what God tells us to do because we want eternal salvation, not because we want some luxuries and amenities in our brief material lives.
We also need to understand how the Christian understanding of wealth fits into maintaining the status quo. If poor people think violent revolution is the only possible way they can escape poverty, then it’s preferable to the wealthy that poor people feel satisfied in their poverty, thinking they will be rewarded in the afterlife.
But these days, every poor man thinks he too can be rich, if he works hard enough, or if he comes up with a great idea, or maybe even through pure dumb luck. Or simply by asking God.
The wealthy are relieved that violent revolution seems to be off the table, but they would prefer the poor focus on luck and prayer as the means to become wealthy. Casinos and lotteries take care of the gamblers, but for the churchgoers, that’s where the prosperity gospel comes in.
Don’t bother fighting for a living wage, don’t bother fighting for universal health care. Just pray to God, asking Him to provide all the basic things you need for survival, the things that would be automatically given in a fair and just society. I doubt prayer has ever hurt a company’s bottom line.
Hard work, bright ideas, dumb luck, prayer, how effective are these at building wealth? What if the only way to become rich is by doing immoral things? It doesn't work for everyone who tries it, of course, but it does seem to be a common theme in the lives of the most successful Wall Street executives.
Immorality is certainly a theme in the life of Donald Trump, who supposedly wants to “bring Christianity back” to America. Take for instance all those times he’s tried to bribe prosecutors. The Bible says a lot more about bribery than it says about abortion or gay marriage.
Successful people often credit God for their success. But they didn’t just pray for their success, sit back and watch the riches roll in. They did things, moral or immoral, legal or illegal, to get to where they are today.
In the case of the really wealthy, the top tenth of the 1%, I am rather more inclined to think they did immoral or illegal things to accumulate that wealth, and that they hardly ever prayed for it.