The “prosperity gospel” is notorious for multi-million dollar mansions, extravagant clothing, expensive automobiles, and personal jets for charismatic evangelists. Reverend Ike, the forerunner of prosperity preachers, proclaimed, “I don’t want my pie in the sky, I want it now!” Creflo Dollar has exhorted, “What’s good news to a poor man? You don’t have to be poor anymore!” The goal of the prosperity gospel is personal enrichment and the sanctification of greed.
The Apostle John wrote,
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. . . Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth (3 John 2, 5-8).
Like a poor man purchasing a lottery ticket at the local convenient store in the hopes of getting rich, many Christians “sow seed faith gifts” into the ministry of these prosperity evangelists hoping that their “seed” will grant them great wealth. The excesses of the prosperity gospel have left the church vulnerable to ridicule.
The purpose of the gospel is the prospering and flourishing of humanity. Does God desire that a naked and hungry child be clothed and fed? Of course. Does God desire that this person be properly educated, given sufficient health care, and an opportunity for dignified work? Certainly. The cries of the naked, hungry, and impoverished bear witness against a world of plenty that has deaf ears and closed hearts. John’s prayer for prosperity reveals an essential character to Christian salvation – the prosperity of body and soul. Jesus declared, “I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
Prosperity has a purpose that goes beyond personal enrichment. John prays for the prosperity of the church so that the church will have the means to faithfully provide for brothers and strangers who are traveling the world proclaiming the gospel – “fellow workers with the truth.”
Authentic prosperity produces radical generosity. The purpose of prosperity is to finance and fulfill the mission of Jesus Christ.
Indeed, prosperity can be a witness to the power of the gospel. When the world sees the wealth of Christians being used to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, educate children, and provide healthcare, then the gospel is proclaimed. The early church was well known for generous acts of charity. They were even mocked for their radical generosity. An ancient pagan satirist declared, “The earnestness with which the [Christians] help one another in their needs is incredible. They spare themselves nothing for this end. Their first lawgiver put it into their heads that they were all brethren” (Lucian, 200 CE, emphasis mine). May the church of the 21st century share in this ancient ridicule.
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