I’m going to break this down into sections. Section 1 is about this question – “does God want me to be rich?”

There’s a couple things we need to talk about. Like, what does God actually think? And what is God’s definition of “rich?”

One day – maybe in a book –

1.1 – “it sounds like you believe in the prosperity gospel.”

“I never discuss anything else except politics and religion. There is nothing else to discuss.” // G.K. Chesterton

One of my favorite things to experience is when random people decide to join conversations I’m having with friends. When I say “favorite” I actually mean it’s one of the things I despise. It’s always a mystery to me that some people are incapable of remembering the adage from middle school: “this is an A-B conversation, so C your way out.” Of course, I understand that on certain topics this is almost unavoidable. There is an interesting phenomenon that takes place when we discuss “controversial” topics in public. We seem to invite the opinions of strangers who almost seem to be compelled to give their take on our conversation. It seems as though I deal with this problem more than others around me. I think it is because I have a real problem with superficiality. If we’re not discussing important topics, what are we supposed to talk about? We may as well not talk at all. This is where I agree with the words of G.K. Chesterton mentioned at the beginning of this chapter. 

One particular day I’m in the gym with a friend. And we are discussing the things we usually discuss. History, philosophy, religion and politics. A stranger overheard us and approached me after my friend left and asked an interesting question: “Hey, are you like a pastor or something?” I promise I’m going to finish the story. But let me digress. Technically, I am a pastor. But I don’t like the box. I think it’s weird how hung up people – pastors and people in churches – are on the term. In many environments, being a pastor is like having an honorary doctorate. I mean, sure you “kind of” earned it. But, also, not really. I understand the importance of roles and clear titles in any organization. Yet at the same time, there’s a strange fixation on titles like this in the church-world. I don’t really want to be a part of that. I used to tell people “just call me Josh, my parents didn’t name me Pastor Josh.” And then my dad reminded me that he made me a pastor, so they did technically name me that. If you see me, I really personally prefer Josh over Pastor Josh. My dad tells me all the time I shouldn’t say this. And I understand, but it’s important to the story.

Hence my dilemma with this stranger who approached me. I decided to say “I’m really more of an ‘or something’ than a pastor, but sure.” I decided not to explain to this person my internal dilemma on the title of pastor. He said: “Where is your church?” I told him the intersection where our church, Elevate Life, sits in Frisco, on the corner of Main and Teel. Then he hit me with it. “Oh you’re one of those prosperity gospel churches.” I responded by asking him if I could ask him a question, he said sure. 

I asked: “What is the prosperity gospel?” 

He said: “Well, it’s kind of what all these mega churches teach.” 

I asked if I could ask him another question. 

Then I asked: “Do you want to make more money”

He said: “Sure” 

I then asked: “Do you want to win in life, be healthy and successful, however you define success?”

He said: “Well, of course.”

I asked him: “Do you think that God wants that for you too? Or do you think he doesn’t want you to win in life?” 

He said: “I think He wants that for me.”

To which I responded: “It sounds like you believe in the prosperity gospel.”

Which may or may not be true. I was already so annoyed at this guy that I just smiled and walked away and didn’t continue the conversation any further. Some of you might be saying “that’s not very pastoral of you.” And you’d probably be right.

This story illustrates a phenomenon that happens all over the western world when people are trying to classify churches and teaching. People seem to love to take a term like “prosperity gospel,” ascribe their own definition, and then apply that definition however they see fit. Of course, people are free to do this as much as they wish, but that doesn’t make their definition or application accurate, or true. This isn’t a new development. It’s just the way we as humans tend to do things. Go beyond the term “prosperity gospel.” We use terms like: truth, love, kindness, and justice as if there is a common shared definition. Yet most of us, when asked, cannot define these terms very easily. What is truth? What is love? What is kindness? What is justice? Without defining what these things are, and agreeing to the definition, how can we pursue them?

1.2 – the importance of definitions

When Socrates would begin his dialogues, he would most often try to establish the definition of terms that he and his interlocutor would discuss. So first, let’s try to define prosperity. Not in a cultural way, but in a Biblical way. 

The first thing that we should admit is that there has been a lot of bad teaching about prosperity. Just because it has been taught poorly doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. There is also a lot of bad teaching about heaven and hell, but we’re all going to end up in one of those places someday. There is a difference between what the truth is, and the effectiveness of teaching the truth. The truth is still true, even if it is poorly taught or understood. And, like gravity, we misunderstand truth to our own peril. If someone poorly explained to you the law of gravity and you decided to jump off a cliff, would it be their fault? Or yours for believing them? Before we make a decision based on a “truth,” it would be wise for us to make sure that “truth” is actually true.

There may be a lot of things that you have heard and learned that have shaped your definition of prosperity. Especially if you’re like me and you have a lot of church-based context for that definition. In any culture, there are a lot of things that we have decided are true, just because they were told to us. This seems to be especially true in Christian cultures. We place such a high regard in the opinions and interpretations of authority figures. In Acts 17, the Bible tells the story of the Bereans. “And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.” (Acts 17:11, BSB). We should strive to be like these Bereans. Everything someone tells us should be weighed against the truth of Scripture. Never just take a person’s word for it just because you like and respect them – or agree with them. Mine included. I am sure to be wrong, but Scripture is not. So let us agree to be Berean in our assessment of what is said and taught to us about everything. Not just prosperity.

Your assumption may be that most people already do this. When the truth is that they don’t. Only 4% of Christians claim to have a biblical worldview (Source). And only 37% of pastors have a biblical worldview (Source). I know that you would think that pastors would be required to have a biblical worldview to be a pastor. See my “honorary doctorate” comments above. But these stats show us that whether you are a pastor or a Christian church attender, if you have a biblical worldview, you find yourself in the minority. 96% of Christians don’t see the world properly. And 63% of pastors are not teaching truth, they are teaching their opinion as truth. This is not a modern problem. This is a human problem that has plagued us since the beginning of history. The vast majority of people are much more concerned with their opinion than truth. In the world we live in, it’s easier than ever to confuse our opinions for truth, and think that something is only true if we agree with it. One of the key functions of modern culture is to create echo-chambers that agree with us. Most systems and algorithms we interact with are created for the purpose of showing us content we want to see. It is actually harder now than it ever has been in history to find dissenting opinions. We actually have to search them out. And who wants to search out things they don’t agree with? 

This is what I would like to invite you into. Wrestling with something you might initially disagree with. The odds are you are wrong. The odds are that I am wrong too. God doesn’t agree with either of us. God’s concern is not your agreement. His concern is your transformation. In order to be transformed, we have to allow our human mind to wrestle with divine thinking that is higher and better than ours. Can you admit to yourself that your opinions and beliefs may be flawed? Maybe you don’t have the full picture? Could it be the case that what you have been taught, and think you know might not be fully true? 

One of my all-time favorite quotes is by Mark Twain: “It ain’t what you know for sure that gets you into trouble, it’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” If you’re like me, there are probably some things that you think you know for sure that just ain’t so. In fact, we will always have this issue. Like wisdom, truth might not be something we ever fully ascertain, but it is something worth pursuing. If you believe that there is even the slightest possibility you might not have laid hold of all truth, keep reading. If you already know what there is to know and have your mind made up. Unsubscribe and unfollow. It will be of no use to you.

This is for those who wish to pursue the truth of what God has to say about prosperity. We may not fully arrive there, but we will be closer than we were at the start of the journey.