Prosperity
- Michael Haldas
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
“It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of thieves.” The Apostle Paul reminds us that we, who are the Church, are also “the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My People’” (2 Cor 6:16; Lev 26:12; Eze 37:27). The admonition contained in this portion of Saint Luke’s gospel is directed at our own church communities, for the identical judgment will be levied against us if we defame God’s temple. History affirms the potential for such tragedy. Often, in order to advance the material prosperity of the institutional Church, Christian communities reject the primary task of God’s people – to be a house of prayer.” (Dynamis 12/1/2020)
“No doubt, our modern world will continue to “make progress,” at least in its own mind. But those who adopt that mind for their Christian worldview will find themselves frustrated at every turn. The caricature that is the so-called “prosperity gospel,” with its boastful and begging TV preachers, is modernity at prayer. It builds empires on the sandy soil of people’s desire for progress and the promise of the next new formula. Such prayer does not make us holy but draws us deeper into delusion.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“The parable [Luke 12:16-21] rejects the ‘prosperity Gospel’ – the notion that God promises each of us to be affluent. Affluence in itself will do us little good for gaining God’s favor or avoiding God’s judgment (think about Christ’s parable of the Last Judgment, partially quoted below). The prosperity Gospel is another example of Christians trying to get around Jesus’ Gospel command that we cannot serve both God and mammon (Matt 6:24). For Christians, our true wealth is in heaven, for it is not the earthly kind, just as Christ’s kingship is not of this world (John 18: 36). That is why we are to seek first the kingdom (Matt 6:33), not the blessings of a prosperous life on earth (which tends towards selfishness and self-centeredness, the opposite of Christ’s teaching on self-denial in Mark 8:34)… Christianity teaches that if we want to enjoy our prosperity in the heavenly kingdom, we need in this world to share it with the poor and needy – God will reimburse us in His kingdom for sharing our hard-earned prosperity with those less fortunate than we are. What we give to the poor we lend to God (Prov 19:17) who promises to repay us in His kingdom (see Matt 10:42; Luke 6:38; 2 Cor 9:6; Heb 6:10).” (Fr. Ted Bobosh)
“Secular people who often define themselves as “spiritual” think of worship as an aid to success in their aspirations for worldly happiness and prosperity and their efforts to make this a more just and peaceful world…Secularism in a religious mode misinterprets Christ’s promise to his disciples, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” (John 14:27), as a plan for peace in this world. It forgets, or overlooks, Christ’s admonition that the peace he gives is ‘not as the world gives’ (John 14:27).” (Vigen Guroian)
“We’re constantly being taught now that money can buy anything. You’re nobody without money, but if you’re rich, your options are limited only by the size of your bank account. But even the most primitive and earthly man can understand that money can’t buy everything. Love, friendship, loyalty, talent, a good name, and even health can’t be bought. Is it possible to be happy without these? Happiness is immaterial; it doesn’t depend on prosperity. For example, a poor man who’s happy in his family life, loved by all, and who is also loving is a hundred times happier than any rich man. The Gospel explicitly says: for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” (Lk. 12:15).” (Archpriest Pavel Gumerov)