What The Rich Young Man Can Teach Us About The Prosperity Gospel

And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. ( Mark 10:21-22)

There is nothing wrong with being wealthy. It is a gift from God! (Eccl. 5:19) There is a lot wrong with coveting what you don't have. It shows you are not content with what God has given you. (Heb. 13:5)

If we come to Jesus wanting what we don't have we begin our relationship with Him out of desire to consummate our sin. And God is not the cause of our sin. And God will surely let us down if He does not give us what we want. And so we will not find contentment. Contentment is for the here and now. Paul discovered contentment before his death. (Phil. 4:10-12) But he did not run up to Jesus asking about eternal life. He may have run into Him on the road to Damascus but that was not his intention. I am quite sure that if Jesus came to him and said something like, "Hey Saul, I know you hate me but that's okay, I want you to spread my message to the Gentiles. Yeah, those people who can't keep their you know what in their pants and eat pork. Oh and by the way, you're going to spend a lot of time in jail, hungry and those wounds from your whippings will heal over time!" In other words, following Jesus has a price to pay, not a want to be gained!

And so the rich young man ran to Jesus kneeling asking what to do for eternal life. Jesus rehearses a portion of the 10 Commandments, the ones on how to treat his fellow man. When he confirms he has met these requirements, we do not hear a rebuke from Jesus, like, "Liar, liar pants on fire!" So he probably did keep these commandments. It was the ones that Jesus did not mention that will trip him up. It was the Tenth Commandment that was not mentioned. You know, Thou shalt not covet!" (Ex. 20:17) And for good measure let's throw in the First Commandment, "Thou shall have no other gods before me!" (Ex. 20:3) After all, Paul does equate covetousness with idolatry. (Col. 3:5) And so the man who was already rich could not part with his treasures. In his heart, they were indeed greater than what Jesus could give him. His wealth was his idol.

For most people who chase after the prosperity gospel and those who preach it, they are not content with what God has already given them. But they are chasing after an idol. An image they have created out of their hearts. And it is this desire, this idol, that will be evidence on the day of judgment.

And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”  And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Let us put our relationship to Jesus first never asking, "What's in it for me?" Be content with what you have . After all, God thinks it's enough! And it can be used for His glory. And if He gives you more, say, "Thank you!" You see, Jesus gave His spotless life for us. What can we give Him? (Mt. 8:18-22)

A Hint at The Shadow of Our Creator

When someone upsets us, why do we never say, "Confucius damn you!"?

How come when somebody stubs their toe they never shout, "Oh, Buddha!"

Why is it when someone receives a shocking revelation they don't cry, "Mohamed!"

But have you ever noticed in some form or other we do carelessly exclaim one of the forms of the Holy Name of God without thinking. I have never heard someone use their mother's name when they get angry at someone or are surprised by some news they have just heard. And just why is that? Perhaps our immediate, unthinking reflex is just a hint of our connection to our Creator.

St. Augustine once wrote, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee."  Even when people live in a world that has directed their attention to other gods or ultimate concerns, the first name they exclaim is a form of the Name of God of the Bible. After all, He is one who formed us. (Gen. 2:7) Sure we have fallen away. But our first grandparents knew Him directly understanding that they were created by His own hand and breath. We are related to God, made in His image. (Gen. 1:27) So an unthinking reflex from our heart, a heart God created, will look to Him. Unfortunately, this is not justification for taking the Lord's name in vain. In fact, it is the very reason for The Third Commandment, "Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his Name in vain." (Ex. 20:7) We need The Law to remind us of our fallen nature. (Rm. 3:20) And we need The Law to be our measure of obedience as we submit to the guiding of our Advocate, The Holy Spirit. (Jn 16:7-11) And it reminds us of the curse we are under. (Gal. 3:10-14) A curse that Jesus took upon Himself as He paid our debt to the Law at Calvary. (Jn. 19:30)

Think about it. If we do not use our parents' name in vain, why sould we use our Creator's Name in vain? After all, it is written,

What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for

“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;

 

as even some of your own poets have said,

 

“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:23-31)

Human Nature and the 10 Commandments

The 10 Commandments are full of thou shalt's and shalt not's. They were given to Moses after Israel was freed from the bondage of slavery. (Ex. 20:2) But they are not meant just as rules to be followed. They also help us understand how we are meant to be as human beings. (Rom. 7:13) Breaking any one of the commandments not only is an infraction against God’s will, (1 John 3:4) but it also diminishes our joy because we are not living up to our nature as God intended. Like the singer who cannot sing, or the artist who cannot create, our joy will be lacking if we do not fulfill our God given nature!

The first four commandments define our relationship with God. We are to live for Him and not ourselves. To make anything more important than God or define Him on our terms is idolatry. Worshipping something that is false make us false! (2 Kings 17:15) The next six commandments show how we are to treat others from our parents to our neighbor. This we all know. But let us look at the Decalogue as descriptive of human nature for we do not want to be false but true to who we are meant to be!

We are created in God’s image. (Gen. 1:27) Remember the Fall occurred when the first humans did not follow God’s Word. Shame took away their joy.  Today we often lack joy because we are not living up to the image God has intended for us. Taken as whole, we can see that the 10 Commandments reflect how we are to be as God’s creatures. We are to be honest, content with what we have trusting God for our needs. God is the source of our life and He should be the beginning and end of our devotions. We are meant to be centered in Him and not in ourselves. When we behave less than how God intended for us to be, we are not in a happy state.

The Good News is that Christ helps us be the persons God wants us to be. It is He who works in us fulfilling God’s will in our lives. (Phil. 2:13) Our joy comes from the knowledge that we have a Helper (Rom. 8:26-30) and that we are growing closer to our Heavenly Father on our earthly journey. (Luke 15:20) We can trust that our debts have been paid on the Cross and with that knowledge live a life fulfilling God’s desires as God molds us back into His image of us. To Him alone be the glory!