You would think this topic had been sufficiently re-hashed in Christ-believing circles by now, but sadly, no.  I am still confronted with supposed Christians who defend these so called ‘preachers.’  (btw, “I like him/her” is not a good biblical defense.) This should make us wonder about deception, right?  Because, after all, the problem with being deceived is, you're deceived.

To be clear, I’m speaking of any pastor, teacher or preacher who claims health, wealth and prosperity; “name it and claim it;” or any version of Word of Faith in relation to our success on this earth.  Currently, the popular ones are Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, Paul Crouch, and so forth.  You can usually find them on TBN. And, you can usually find them declaring things into the atmosphere and asking for "seed money."  You know the stuff Jesus did all the time.
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Let’s discuss how dangerous this false ‘gospel’ is:

1. It puts gifts before the Giver.  We are created to worship Him in spirit and in truth, not focus on our material needs.  When we put “blessings” as the focus of our worship, we are actually worshiping the blessings - and ourselves.  We are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  Prosperity gospel seeks comfort, material gain, success, blessings we are “entitled” to, and other worldly gains.
2. It is arrogant.  This false “gospel” teaches us to believe that WE know what is best for our lives.  It completely reverses the order of the God-redeemed relationship, putting the created in control of the Creator. 
3. It makes a mockery of the Cross.  The Prosperity "gospel" states that we don’t have to suffer because Christ suffered for us.  That’s a blatant twist of Scripture.  Yes, Christ suffered for us.  He died so that we could be reconciled to God. We are also to pick up our cross and follow him.  The Cross is an instrument of death.  That means we need to die to ourselves- live a life of self-denial; less “me,” more Him. 
4. It’s a “gospel” of comfort.  It claims that God wants us to be happy, healthy and prosperous.  Actually, God cares more about our spiritual growth into holiness rather than our level of personal comfort, career success or happiness. We are called to enduring suffering and to walk out our salvation with fear and trembling. Maybe the thing we need for a stronger reliance on God is an illness or poverty in this temporal life.
5. It is blasphemous.  It states that all we have to do is proclaim our desires into the atmosphere and God, the angles, the universe, have to respond. Ummmm??? God is God.  We are not.  He is sovereign.  He blesses whom He will bless and curses whom He will curse- not up to us.  He is God. 
6. It demonstrates complete and utter lack of faith (despite its name and claim). If God watches over us more than the sparrows, why would we ever have to declare anything for ourselves?  If He loves us and wants good things for us, why must we run around yelling into the atmosphere that God must fulfill our every wish because we have claimed it?  If He is in control, let Him declare it- or not.  Our job is to worship Him even if the fig tree fails, and to be content in Him in all circumstances.
7. It negates the words of Jesus, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”  WOF has no interest in being poor- in any shape or form.  Instead, this movement tells us to 'strike a power pose' and declare our desires into the spirit realm.
8. It is a slap in the face to anyone who has experienced devastation, heartbreak or need.  (you didn’t have enough faith).  They could have saved their sick child, kept their job or cured themselves of cancer had only they believed more.
9. It diminishes the sovereignty of God.  Maybe He wants us to go through hardships for our eternal benefit; to strengthen our faith or cleans our hearts of idols- or whatever reason God decides.  He’s God.  Maybe the trials we face are more about the sanctification process than about failure to speak affirmations over ourselves.
10. It confuses the wrath of God with normal trials and tribulations and with sufferings and persecutions of being a Christ follower. All suffering is not related to sin or lack of faith.  Suffering is a normal experience of being on this fallen earth.  Suffering is also useful for spiritual growth (perseverance produces …)
11. It misses the point of the Acts church. The Bible gives us the natural order of Christian living.  none of them had need as they shared amongst each other.  Scripture does not say, “No one had a need because they all proclaimed material blessings upon themselves.”
12. It tells us to pursue the very thing Jesus warned against. Love of money, instead of encouraging us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, pleasing to God.
13. It mimics Satan’s tempting of Jesus in the wilderness: “I will give you…” If God saw fit to warn us that Satan knows and twists Scripture in his efforts to lead us astray, we should take heed.
14. It’s a whitewashed tomb; witchcraft dressed up in Christian clothes; New Age law of attraction.  It’s deceptive, fueled by deceiving spirits that put a little truth in every lie to create an illusion of righteousness.  Funny, how even non-believers can see this.

 
All of this is said with the knowledge that no one can come to the Father unless He draws him or her.   Perhaps He will not draw those who are already fully convinced that they have already found their “truth” in the prosperity “gospel”?  It’s not for me to know.

What I do know is that He desires people to worship Him in spirit and in Truth and if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. 

Don’t take my word for it.  Please, ask God for wisdom and discernment. 
Be blessed with spiritual blessings, my friend.
 
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Prosperity gospel, lie, false doctrine, WOF

As a therapist, I am well versed on concepts like the self-fulfilling prophecy (see The Pygmalion Effect and Golem Effect).  For those of you who don’t know, it’s basically when someone says something untrue about someone (or a group of someones), then due to the power of influence, that prediction comes true.

A common example is a child who grows up hearing they are stupid, incapable, etc.  While this is not true, the fact that the child has been exposed to others who say or believe this to be true influences how the child feels about him- or herself.  Eventually, the child begins acting as if the words were true, thereby fulfilling the ‘prophecy.’

Or, take a spouse who leans toward the suspicious side and who is always accusing his or her partner of cheating.  The innocent spouse may eventually tire of the false accusations and begin to think, “Well, if I’m going to be accused of it, I might as well do it!”

We can see this played out in a variety of life situations- both in the negative and positive realms.  If your boss tells you that you are a high performer and a great leader, you are going to perform and lead better.  You get the idea.

My concern, and reason for bringing this up, is the current state of society.  With all the mud-slinging and name calling going on (on both sides of the political fence), I’m afraid that both sides will engage in a form of self-fulfilling prophesy, albeit in a tit-for-tat, escalating manner. Now, if you stop and think for a minute, if all of the awful stereotypes were to actually come true for both sides, we would all be in some serious trouble.

What can be done?  We all need to take individual responsibility to 1) not promote gossip, hate or malice (ignore when possible), 2) spread kindness and love any chance we get and 3) pray for wisdom. 

If we speak positive words into others - to calm fears, to promote unity- we can turn this budding race war around.  We can be a catalyst for positive change.  It just takes a little self-fulling prophecy in action.

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21)
 
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Loved ones.  Innocence.  Hope. Stability.  A planned future.

Lost. 

The ground disappears beneath your feet.  Life is forever changed.  It has to be a nightmare, but no, it is real.  You are here, shattered in a million pieces, trying to find… anything at all.

The initial stage of healing from loss involves a weird, ugly fog for those who are left in the aftermath.  You feel numb, tired, and/or in a daze.

People in the fog sometimes wonder, “Why aren’t I taking this harder?”  Or, they might say things like “This can’t be real,” or “It hasn’t sunk in yet.” 

This is our natural psychological defense kicking in to protect us, much like a circuit breaker protects your home from unsafe surges of electricity.  “Grief brain” is a term used to describe the spacy- forgetful-clumsiness that accompanies the fog.

If you have recently experienced the death of a loved one, you might hear his voice, see her driving around town.  You might have realistic dreams- if you can sleep at all.

This combination of experiences can make grievers feel as if they are going crazy.  They are not.  This is part of the normal healing process.  I encourage you to journal.  You likely won’t remember many details of these days, and having a record may help you along future stages of this grieving / healing process.

There is a saying in the recovery world : You have to feel it to heal it.  This is true for all areas of life.  There is no easy way out.  You have to go through it.  Grab a friend's hand and take a deep breath.  This is going to be possibly the hardest thing you've ever done.  but you can do it.  You can heal.

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