The Battle Between the Poverty and Prosperity Gospels

My family and I have visited many churches over the years, so we have seen how several different denominations hold their services. Some of these churches have either been all for the prosperity gospel, or very much against it - that we should live as poor people like Jesus did. 

In one particular church that we had been attending for quite some time, my family and I witnessed several situations that were very concerning to us.

In the youth group, I remember everyone going around the room, saying what they were "believing" for. But the things they were believing for - every one of them was material possessions. When it got to my turn, I just kinda blurted out that I was believing for a piano. It was honestly the first thing I could think of at the moment, and I didn't want to look stupid in front of all these teens. Well, when you're afraid you're going to look stupid, oftentimes people pick up on that and decide to dig. 

"Do you have a verse you're standing on?" the youth leader asked. 

I didn't have to look around the room to know everyone was staring at me. I felt my face starting to get warm. "No."

"BURN!" The youth leader then went on to tell everyone how important it was to have a verse to stand on when believing for something. 

Another time, my parents were helping in children's ministry. The kids were taking turns saying their praise reports, and the majority of them said things like, "I received a new Xbox!" or "I got a new Barbie!" or "So-and-so gave me their bike!" 

Now before you get the wrong idea, I just have to say that I know God loves blessing us with things. He enjoys giving to His children. The problem is when we replace worshipping Him with focusing on getting "stuff." The stuff is not what we are supposed to be worshipping. That's called idolatry. 

Idolatry, according to Bing, is "Extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone." Some synonyms include: fetishism, paganism, heathenism, heresy, worshipping, adoration, ungodliness. (If you haven't already, check out my February 2019 blog post "Be Done with Idolatry!")

Then there's the other side. The side that people think "money is the root of all evil." Because Jesus was homeless and poor, that everyone on earth should be poor. All money is bad. Having material possessions is bad. Bad, bad, bad. 

The problem with this message is that we need money to reach all of creation with the Gospel. We need material possessions, such as cars, planes, suitcases, cell phones, even TV and movies! All of these things and more have in some way contributed to the spread of the Gospel. 

The sad part is that both of these groups of people end up in some kind of poverty in their thinking. They don't think they have enough, and that they need more, more, more, so they keep "believing" God for bigger and better things, even if they don't need it or have the room for it (and end up not being able to take care of it well). The others think that all money is bad, so they never accept help from people. They end up losing possessions because they don't take care of the things they do have. After all, Jesus didn't have all these possessions, did He? 

So what is the answer to these very extreme messages? 

First of all, God calls people to many different areas of life. He calls some to be lawyers, some to be construction workers. He calls some people to be millionaires, while others to have just what they need, and still others on the streets to help the other homeless people. It really all comes down to this: God takes care of all our needs (Phil. 4:19). Some peoples' needs are bigger than others, and some needs are very small. Either way, God wants us to trust Him. He has specifically placed people throughout the world to be there to spread His Word, whether rich or poor. We need people in all areas of life so that we can do His work! We can't have everyone be rich, because not everyone would know how to steward it all properly. We can't have everyone be poor, because no one would be able to do anything for each other. 

So let's have a more balanced approach when it comes to poverty and prosperity. We shouldn't be obsessed and worship our material possessions, but at the same time, we should be thankful for what we do have, and be open if God wants to bless us with more!