Somewhere between the Word of Faith “prosperity gospel” and the monastic poverty vow, we find the biblical truth of prosperity. Biblical prosperity has less to do with salary amount and/or wristwatch brand and more to do with attitude and motive.
Many today accuse the Church of being “all about the Benjamins.” (Benjamin Franklin’s face is on the US $100 bill.) While I understand that accusation, I couldn’t disagree more vehemently. The vast majority of churches and preachers are exactly the opposite of money-obsessed greedy charlatans. The whole church gets a bad rap because of a relatively few, but very visible and vocal, minority of prosperity preachers.
Despite the extreme prosperity preachers, I want to caution leaders against “throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”
Why?
The Bible has much to say about prosperity, money, and its proper use. There is a clear purpose to God’s provision that includes, but is not limited to, global mission.
God joyfully and abundantly provides for individuals and churches, but his provision is for something far greater than individuals and local churches.
