I am ashamed to say I was one of those Christians who fervently believed in the prosperity gospel and thought that I was sowing seeds to reap a harvest (harvest meaning a bunch of stuff that I wanted God to give me). I believed that God wanted his children to be healthy, wealthy, and full of life but boy was I wrong. I was storing up my treasures on earth and not in heaven. What attracted me to the prosperity gospel was my desire to own a business and to "do it Gods way".Though there is nothing wrong with owning a business in and of itself there was a problem with my motivation behind wanting a business, to become rich.
I wanted to make at least $10,000 or more per month so that I could buy my dream house, own a couple of vacation properties, a couple of expensive cars, designer clothes, etc. I even found a church that was preaching everything that I wanted to hear concerning prosperity. The pastor taught that the "good news" that Jesus came to proclaim, first to the poor, was that they didn't have to be poor anymore. Among other things, the pastor's sermons constantly focused on prosperity and very motivational topics which really fed my desire to become rich. I was convinced that God had given me the power to create wealth and that he wanted to bless me so I could be a blessing to others.
I have since dedicated my life to treasuring Christ above ALL THINGS and challenging others to do the same.Paul said, “There is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” Randy Alcorn sums it up best in this quote from his book, "The Treasure Principle" :
I wanted to make at least $10,000 or more per month so that I could buy my dream house, own a couple of vacation properties, a couple of expensive cars, designer clothes, etc. I even found a church that was preaching everything that I wanted to hear concerning prosperity. The pastor taught that the "good news" that Jesus came to proclaim, first to the poor, was that they didn't have to be poor anymore. Among other things, the pastor's sermons constantly focused on prosperity and very motivational topics which really fed my desire to become rich. I was convinced that God had given me the power to create wealth and that he wanted to bless me so I could be a blessing to others.
I have since dedicated my life to treasuring Christ above ALL THINGS and challenging others to do the same.Paul said, “There is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” Randy Alcorn sums it up best in this quote from his book, "The Treasure Principle" :
"Consider what Jesus is saying: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth." Why not? Because earthly treasures are bad? No. Because they won't last. Scripture says, "Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle" (Proverbs 23:5) What a picture. Next time you buy a prized possession, imagine it sprouting wings and flying off. Sooner or later it will disappear. But when Jesus warns us not to store up treasures on earth, it's not just because wealth might be lost; it's because wealth will always be lost. Either it leaves us while we live, or we leave it when we die. No exceptions. "
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