Gospel Prism

If you picked up the latest Time, this is the front cover article. Sadly, there is a growing movement in this country among church goers who believe this to be true. Time says: “Its [the prosperity Gospel movement] signature verse could be John 10:10: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” In a Time poll, 17 percent of Christians surveyed said they considered themselves part of such a movement, while a full 61 percent believed that God wants people to be prosperous.”

It also reports:

Of the four biggest megachurches in the country, three — Joel Osteen’s Lakewood in Houston; T.D. Jakes’ Potter’s House in south Dallas; and Creflo Dollar’s World Changers in Atlanta — are Prosperity or Prosperity Lite pulpits (although Jakes’ ministry has many more facets).

While they don’t exclusively teach that God’s riches want to be in believers’ wallets, it is a key part of their doctrine.

And propelled by Osteen’s 4 million-selling book, Your Best Life Now, the belief has swept beyond its Pentecostal base into more buttoned-down evangelical churches, and even into congregations in the more liberal Mainline. It is taught in hundreds of non-Pentecostal Bible studies. One Pennsylvania Lutheran pastor even made it the basis for a sermon series for Lent, when Christians usually meditate on why Jesus was having His Worst Life Then.

What do you think? Does God want you to be rich?