Prosperity Gospel or Poverty Gospel?

I recently set up a Twitter poll begging the question “Do you want to be poor?” Within a few hours it was unanimously clear that the overarching social opinion gravitated towards a hearty resounding no (not one said ‘yes’). I will be honest. One internet polling does not and will not bear the muscle of solidified social opinion. Yet, we cannot escape the gnawing thought that edges at our envelopes challenging our needful wants and unwanted needs. To be more politically “gentle”, perhaps the lack of “financial blessing” may not be a portion we are willing to generously ‘receive.’

Beneath the undertones and hues (and sometimes at the frontiers!) lies a banner which we have coined as the prosperity gospel. It was interesting to note the mosaic of viewpoints and opinions held amongst fellow professing Christians regarding money and our birthright of it. Many ‘for’ and ‘against’ the popular opinion raised an even greater banner of mixed thought painted across a multiplicity of rationales.

I know He cares for my spiritual welfare, but what about my bank account?

Over the years I have found my mental faculties fall prey to this spiritual tug of war (and I soon realized that I was not alone). We sat across the table and grappled with thoughts of the here and now. Our ‘hustle’ and ‘grind’ took many forms and shapes yet we were all after the same thing: money! Admittedly or not, we needed it (and might I add, still do!). Yet what clawed at the skin of our mind were questions and doubts on how the current ‘name it and claim it’ wave plays into biblical thought as we wrestle with genuine needs and wants. To put it plainly: I know He cares for my spiritual welfare, but what about my bank account?

If we are not focusing on how God wants to bless me with a nice house, car and iPhone X (nice defined by my terms and conditions) then we slide towards the other extreme for fear of identifying ourselves with those who only prize themselves with material blessings. Our message therefore tends to gravitate towards a more ‘this is not our home’ sermon-where our greatest investment (and might I add ‘our only encouraged investment’) becomes that for my soul and eternal security (if this has pulled the threads beneath your skin then I have achieved my purpose). What do we do when our genuine need for the Lords provision and all things nice falls prey to the guilt of “am I too being swept by the ‘name it and claim it” wave? What do we do when the message of provision tends to only relate to that which is spiritual, negating our current physical reality? What do we do we when our view of God subliminally begins to suggest that perhaps our earthly fortitude is one He simply does not care about? I do not claim to have all the answers (nor do I want to). What I have known, however, is the misappropriation and reactional emphasis placed on the two positions. We are either advocating for material blessings- negating the reality of their temporary state-  or are reveling in our spiritual banks as we let His promises of genuine provision ‘skip our portion.’ Where is the pivot of the scale?

I have learned the secret

Dichotomies confuse us. Paradoxical theories leave us stretched beyond our mental faculties begging questions of “which.”  Yet the dichotomies of God serve as complimentary tools that serve to reveal more of who He is: “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hungry, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him (Christ) who strengthens me [1].” Paul bears witness to the dynamic world he lives. Yet his testament of his then human experience falls to the only solidarity and constant that cradles every human tranjectory even before the beginning of time: GOD. His earthly (and might I add temporal) prosperity and poverty played as opportunities for the Lord to reveal His sufficient strength to Him. In times of poverty he learnt the sheer art of contentment as promises of His provision lay abundant before His throne. In times of prosperity he learnt of the Lords faithfulness as scriptures of old proved to be nothing but true (“I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or His children begging for bread”). We can trust in the God who boldly says “are we not more precious than these” having the sure anchorage and hope that He cares for us. We can trust in the God who promises to bless the work of our hands, rewarding those who are diligent and honest with their work (He blesses ‘the hustle’). We can trust in the God whose grace far supersedes our efforts and toils even as the economy plummets before our very eyes. Is there anything too hard for God? Did He not provide for dying children in the wilderness as mothers sought the Lord for their young ones? Did He not prevent the clothing of the Israelite from wearing out as they journeyed through the dangerous terrain for 40 years? Did inflation, bankruptcy or sin ever surprise God? Are you not more precious than any one of these?

I am not advocating for prosperity nor am I advocating for poverty. I am advocating for God (as if He needed me to). When our inner person finds its fortitude in the Personhood of God (His faithfulness and Fatherhood over our lives) we will know, with utter conviction, that He cares for us. His promises are a yes and amen in Christ Jesus. His care stretches across the here and now, reaching far and wide to the gates of heaven. Let’s work. Let’s hustle. Let’s trust!

8 Keep deception and lies far from me,
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the food that is my portion,
9 That I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or that I not be in want and steal,
And profane the name of my God. – Proverbs 30 (Solomon)

At His Feet…

References

1. Philippians 4:11-13