Alright, first let me apologize for not updating my blog as much as I should have last month. Since I announced my resignation as pastor of ECBC I have been extremely busy and was unable to move forward on last months topic. That said, I am now free to continue our quest to understand the culture in light of the teachings of Christ. This months topic is particularly important as it serves as an example of what happens when the world and the church join forces.
I am sure that most of you have heard of Joel Osteen. Some of you have probably even watched his TV show or glanced at his books. Therefore I am not going to spend much time on him, but instead to focus on the issues that he brings to the table. The words of his own people should be enough for us to understand who he is and what he teaches. In their words he is called "Reverend Feelgood." By the way, if you flip through the pictures that are offered of Joel Osteen in the article you can see the lifestyle he lives as a result of his teaching.
What Joel Osteen preaches is called "prosperity gospel." It is essentially the belief that when you receive Christ His sole desire is to make you happy, healthy, and wealthy. In fact, Osteen says himself, "God wants you to have a big life. That is His blessing. God has a big dream for your life." Essentially, the belief is that if you are not prospering than the problem is not God but your faith. If you simply had more faith then you would be prospering.
There are several issues with this teaching, more than I can possibly address even if I spent the next year dealing only with this topic, but let me for a moment address the problem with Osteen's personal prosperity. Hear the words of Paul to those who minister in 1 Timothy 6:9-10, "But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." Those who seek after wealth will fall because of their pursuit. Now this is not to say that Pastors should be poor and destitute as many in more traditional churches believe, for even Paul writes 1 Timothy 5:18 that the "worker is worthy of his wages." What Paul is saying is that Pastors should live a moderate or temperate lifestyle not given to worldly treasures. By the way, this is the standard of life that Scripture expects for all Christians. So then, even if we were to step away from Osteen's teachings a simple look at his lifestyle would reveal that he is not living according to the standards set for him in God's Word.
Next time I will address the question, "Does God want you to be happy, healthy, and wealthy?"
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