Relevant: The Vatican Is Speaking Out About the Dangers of the Prosperity Gospel

The article, “The Prosperity Gospel: Dangerous and Different” directly calls out the idea as fake theology intertwined with the American dream and Donald Trump, and specifically references American megachurch pastors and televangelists, Oral Roberts, Pat Robertson and Joel Osteen. The article mentions that the prosperity gospel has made those preachers wealthy while they spread a “pseudo-gospel” that is counter-biblical. The prosperity gospel essentially says “wealth and success as synonymous with true religious conviction, and consequently, sees ‘poverty, sickness and unhappiness’ as a lack of faith,” according to Cruxnow.com.

The authors, the Rev. Antonio Spadaro and Marcelo Figueroa, talk about how the prosperity gospel ends up being directly in contrast to social justice, salvation and the charge to love the less fortunate: “In truth, one of the serious problems that the prosperity gospel brings is its perverse effects on the poor. … In fact, it not only exasperates individualism and knocks down the sense of solidarity, but it pushes people to adopt a miracle-centered outlook because faith alone—not social or political commitment—can procure prosperity.”

I can think of few major Christian movements that contradict the message of Christ so directly as the prosperity gospel. From the emphasis on humility in the Sermon on the Mount, to Jesus’s warnings to the rich young man in Matthew 19:16–24, to His portrayal of wealthy people in parables like the Rich Man & Lazarus in Luke 16:19–31, there is no indication anywhere that God will tie economic success to righteousness in the New Testament. None. The rain falls on the just and the unjust; and the sun shines on both as well.

The insidious nature of this doctrine comes in two major ways:

1. It clouds our attitudes toward our own sins. If we’re relatively financially healthy, we may decide God must be pleased with us. We then do nothing to right our wrongs or seek forgiveness for our transgressions. Repentance is hard when you think everything is great.
2. It makes us unsympathetic toward underprivileged people and groups. We then reason with ourselves that they would be better off if only they were more pleasing to God. Therefore, who am I to interfere with God’s punishment for their apparent lack of faith?

I never thought I would see the day when the prosperity gospel would escape from its niche of televangelism and gullibility, but here we are. While certain sins may have consequences that will affect your prosperity in this life, God does not guarantee physical wealth or comfort to His faithful. He promises eternal life and joy to those who faithfully endure the struggles of this world, but He does not promise us success; He does not promise us possessions; He does not promise us wealth.