IN THEORY:'Rich Christian' a contradiction

The prosperity gospel (aka "name it and claim it") is a gospel of greed. It seeks the Lord, not for Himself, but for what's in His hand. Like dogs that expect treats when they wag their tails, prosperity people want God to fill the slobbering mouths of their bank accounts.

Schemes abound, pandering to the desires of Christian people who compete with the pagan Joneses. "Give To Get" is the phrase theologians use to describe the financial offerings of these people. Prosperity folk hold that if they give $100 to God's "company," He returns their stock a hundredfold. Rarely is this realized, but as chance factors in, some do come into resources and perpetuate the heresy. I would like to think that it's only the very immature, poor, or ignorant who get sucked into this, but, well OK, it is the very immature, poor and ignorant who get sucked into this.

Periodically, a leading preacher of this tripe gets busted for fraud or corruption and everyone looks at the Christian community as if we all endorse such nonsense. These same charlatans reappear years later and garner bigger followings. We can only shake our heads as we return to our smaller congregations to whom we cannot honestly offer riches as a result of their faithful support.

God blessed some people in the Bible financially, and others with a more personal relationship to Himself. Others were martyred for championing God's true Gospel message, which is that all have sinned and are rightly condemned unless they take hold of God's way of saving them — Jesus Christ.

Money helps greatly in life, but it's never the goal, nor is it a mark of true spirituality. To the contrary, Jesus said, "it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:23).

THE REV. BRYAN GRIEM

Senior Pastor

MontroseCommunityChurch.org

Like all the Holy Teachers who preceded Him, Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith, taught us that our purpose in life is to attain spiritual riches and that material wealth is only of value as an aid in serving mankind.