Is Prosperity Gospel Christian?

I have always been "suspicious" of TV evangelists and their methods of "sharing the good news." Somehow it just seems too slick and polished for my tastes. I also know that many of them have "fallen from glory" in the midst of horrendous scandals that often involve bilking people out of their hard earned money.

Gary was telling me of Pastor Glenn Berge's sermon on Sunday which talked about something called the "Prosperity Gospel." I guess it's something that I've heard about, in principle, but had never heard named before. The "Prosperity Gospel" proclaims that God wants us to be rich, not just spiritually, but materially, and He will fiscally prosper all those who give to His cause. The gospel promises disciples of Christ, "not a cross, but a Mercedes and a Rolex."

I went on the internet to research the "Prosperity Gospel" and in just a few short minutes was totally appalled with what I found. This is an incredible, growing scam and perversion of the basics of Lutheran theology and, I might add, anything that could legitimately call itself Christian. Take a few minutes to check it out. It's amazing how easy it would be to "buy into its thinking" given our personal desires for acquisition and scary to think that so many, who cannot afford to support others' extravagant lifestyles, are so caught up in the philosophy as they "wait for their ship to come in."

My thought and prayer for each of us this week is that we might indeed "test the Spirits" of all things that come our way to see if they are truly "of God" and come to know that happiness and fulfillment never lie in striving for the things of this world. May we, like Paul, learn to be content with what we have and follow the "upside down" values of God's kingdom instead of "the ways of the world."

Peace,

Pastor Carol