Doing God’s Business

Teresa D Hawkes, Ph.D.
Nov 2 · 2 min read
Aimea Saul, Burden of God

Today a super successful prosperity gospel televangelist has been elevated to the White House staff. She will represent her faith there, and it is her job to convert the rest of us.

In her faith, if you give money to her or others like her, God will smile on you and provide you with riches and power.

Gosh. We can have good stuff just by giving money to an approved religious figure.

Who knew life could be that simple? During the Great Depression, my own grandmother gave what little money she had to itinerate evangelical preachers instead of feeding her kids with it because she too believed that the money in the hands of the preacher would automatically cause God to make sure her kids had food.

News flash: her kids went hungry a lot. My father praised Franklin D Roosevelt because when Mr. Roosevelt’s food trucks arrived Dad and his nine siblings had cheese and canned goods to eat for days. Their bellies were full when they went to bed and they had long, peaceful sleeps.

This kind of gospel is a shell game in which the preacher always wins and whatever you hoped to get by giving them money is always just out of reach.

Why do humans consistently subscribe to stories promising the impossible?

Because many people really do believe there is an all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful invisible person who wants the best for them and will give that best if they just do that person’s bidding.

That person is always represented by a human being standing right in front of your eyes. They will tell you God’s (that person’s) bidding.

What bidding?

In this case, give your money to the right televangelist and support her boss.

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