How Word-of-Faith Creates Spiritual Burdens
Word-of-Faith people portray themselves as the spiritual elite. They are convinced their beliefs improve all aspects of human life, including socioeconomic status and physical and mental health. But is it really that promising? Here are a few reasons why WoF (Word-of-Faith) theology might produce a miserable life instead.
Reductionistic Understanding of Reality
Central to WoF theology is the belief in the metaphysical power of words. By ‘metaphysical,’ I mean that human words do not only produce results through their natural impact/influence in communication. No, in the WoF worldview, one’s entire destiny lies in the mouth. Even though the positive confession doctrine underwent some modifications over time, we might define it as follows: positive words create positive life experiences, and negative words create negative life experiences. Kenneth Hagin explains:
Our WORDS — the WORDS we spoke yesterday — made life what it is today… Spiritual things are created by WORDS. Even natural, physical things are created by WORDS… You are not going to have health unless you talk health. … We are a product of WORDS. … Your WORDS are so important. You need to realize that. They set the boundaries of your life. You will never realize anything beyond the words you speak. You will never have anything beyond your own words.”¹
The problem with this theology is its reductionistic frame of reference in interpreting reality. It encourages simplistic explanations when humans suffer. If you are diagnosed with cancer, lose a child, or get into a car accident, it comes as a consequence of your negative confessions. The victim is blamed even if the suffering does not result from the normative consequences of personal responsibility.² I know of an elderly couple that is convinced that the wife broke her hip because of a negative confession she made in her youth. I am not saying that all WoF people go that far. But WoF theology certainly encourages an irrational understanding of causal relationships. The following spiritual burdens are created because of that:
- Wofers are overly focused on what they say, even if their speech is free from sin. This focus is driven by the fear of making a negative confession. This might complicate relationships (and conflict resolution) because honest dialogue is hindered.
- Wofers experience unnecessary guilt and shame because they wrongly believe that their words have brought about suffering.
Unrealistic Expectations
Word-of-Faith theology is strongly dualistic. What feels good comes from God, and what feels bad comes from the devil. Health and wealth are God’s will. Sickness and poverty are the devil’s will. Everything is black and white. Based on this dichotomy, the ideal Christian is always victorious, healthy, and wealthy. His marriage is perfect. His business is flourishing. His family is harmonious. And his children are thriving. Anything below this ideal will cause distress and prompt the Wofer to make positive confessions or engage in spiritual warfare. The following spiritual burdens are created:
- Wofers often fall into the trap of fixation. For example, I know of a Wofer who caught a cold and then constantly tried to command it to leave. This type of fixation is unhealthy for the mind and nourishes self-centeredness and false priorities.
- Wofers suffer from unhappiness. The reason is that the ideal Christian (as described above) is an unreachable goal. The consequences are frustration, self-doubt, disappointment, burnout, guilt, shame, etc.
- Wofers suffer from cognitive dissonance. What is promised by WoF theology does not materialize. This creates an unbearable discrepancy between expectation and reality. The consequences of this tension include doubts, loss of reality, depression, etc.
- Wofers are prone to rationalizing. This is necessary because of the disconfirmation of WoF beliefs in real life. Since Wofers are often uncritical, they might accept fantastic rationalizations to guard the “truths” of their doctrines.
- Wofers are envious. This is stimulated through the false values of health and wealth theology.
Social Comparison
The idealistic life expectations of WoF theology will also impact group behavior. The phenomenon of social comparison can become a rather unpleasant experience in the context of a WoF congregation. Physical health and socioeconomic status are usually directly linked to someone’s faith. It’s an indicator of how much favor someone receives from God. This becomes the soil for a competitive environment where people compare themselves to others. Because of that, the group’s approval might only be received through the wrong means:
- Wofers are often dishonest about their economic, physiological, and spiritual situation. Or they might overemphasize personal qualities to compensate. This happens because of group-internal expectations and the need to give convincing impressions to outsiders.
- Wofers are envious. This comes as the most natural result of social comparison.
[1] Kenneth Hagin, Words (Faith Library Publications, 2012), 2, 7, 9, 10, 18.
[2] The Bible teaches the sowing-and-reaping principle (Gal. 6:7–10). However, this principle is tied to the normative consequences of moral/immoral behavior. It excludes the metaphysical speculations of Word-of-Faith theology.
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