Biblical Abundance vs. American Prosperity

First, Do no harm. Or as Dr. Catherine posted this morning, "Do yourself no trauma...."

The so-called Prosperity Gospel has done a great deal of harm. The anti-prosperity gospel has ALSO done a great deal of harm. The accuser of the brethren doesn't care which extreme we embrace, as long as we don't embrace God's view!

Three ways the Prosperity Gospel does harm:
1. "Faith of the believer" becomes the focus, not Him in whom our faith is,
2. "Wishing makes it so" is not the same as praying,
3. "Denial" is not the same as "trusting in the Lord".

The result of the first is a prideful attitude. Those who receive abundantly appear, in the community, to be favored and more spiritual. "I must be really good at having faith, because I got what I wanted." Those who do not receive are looked down upon, even shamed. The "poor in heart" are bullied by the very believers who should be lifting them up. The greatest harm here is in married couples. The optimistic partner shames and blames the one who struggles with faith or depression. All adversity becomes the fault of the partner who is unable to pretend they are joyful and faith-filled when they are hurting.

"Wishing makes it so" is a heathenish attitude. It is magic thinking or superstition. "If I don't think bad thoughts, nothing bad will happen" is oppositional to the scriptures. God is sovereign: not my mind. I realize I have to be careful here, because there certainly IS power in the words we think to do good or harm. But we are not to be "balanced" about it - we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Meditating on the word so that we know what is the mind of Christ toward our desires makes all the difference. Willingness to let go of what we want to embrace the vision God has for us is a hallmark that we are first trusting and obedient, and fighting down the flesh that "wants what we want when we want it."

Denial causes great harm. Pretending there is no problem when there is has no place in the life of a believer. The temporal world is real; adversity is real. More importantly, shouting down another person for being concerned and blaming them for continuing difficulty is not loving your brother, it is siding with the accuser of the brethren.

At the other extreme is anti-prosperity: The belief that suffering is God's desire, that want and hunger are somehow spiritual, and that self-punishment makes us holy.

While, in our troubles, God can be glorified, and sometimes discipline or growth come through suffering, God's self-proclamation is, "“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, ⁷ maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”