Prosperity Gospel vs. Poverty Gospel
To my atheist/agnostic friends, please ignore our internal Christian controversy.
My wife and I have a deep appreciation for Joel Osteen.
We have listened to him for over ten years, and we joke around that Joel has saved our marriage.
If you are an Osteen hater, you might want to stop reading. We appreciate his positive message and spiritual encouragement.
Joel’s messages encourage our relationship with God.
The purpose of this article is to discuss major misconceptions concerning Joel and his theology. I’d also like to challenge a strange group think that pastors shouldn’t be wealthy even if the money comes from other sources and not the church.
This article is not so much about Joel himself but more about theology in evangelicalism.
At the end of the day, people love to hate, and people love to hate Joel Osteen. Certain Christians feel they need to attack a brother or sister in Christ in the “name of truth.” Some take it further and claim that Joel is NOT a brother in Christ. I’ve met some religious tribes who are quick to claim whether a person is “IN” or “OUT”. Crazy stuff.
Haters complain about Osteen’s theology. However, haters need to check their own theology. This situation is very similar to the Pharisees back in Jesus’ day. The Pharisees were the religious police who believed they were theologically correct, but they were actually living in error.
Anyways, I don’t need to defend the Osteens. They are more than capable of defending themselves.
However, I do want to talk about something that happened with the Osteens that reveals heresy in our evangelical culture.
Long story short, Victoria Osteen said something that people felt was heretical. People freaked out. However, when I look at the Bible, I found that God said the exact same thing that Victoria said.
Watch this video:
Victoria Osteen said to “…do good for your own self. Do good because God wants you to be happy…”
The religious police screamed loud and clear. Here are some comments:
- God wants us to be happy? Where is that in Scripture?
- I don’t even know what to say? How wrong is that.
- I read about Victoria that she is under fire for committing blasphemy, and she is the image of devil.
- And NO ONE walked out…………WOW how deceived!!
Deceived? It’s quite the opposite.
Victoria said “do good for ourselves because this makes God happy.” If I could sum up her words, she said to “do good for your own good.”
Heresy?
Self-centered living?
No.
It’s spiritual living.
Many places in the Bible confirm what Victoria said. Let’s take a look at one from Deuteronomy chapter 6.
1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,
2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.
3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
God says in verse 3 to “obey (do good) so that it may go well with you (for your own good).” It might be hard to believe, but this passage of scripture is not about God. It IS about us. It’s about how much God loves us!
God knows there are empty paths to happiness, so He gave us a road map. It’s not cryptic. He made the way clear.
Someone might say that passage of scripture doesn’t directly apply to us. I would argue, in the very least, it reveals the character of God. It demonstrates how He thinks and how His heart beats.
Look at the following statements from this passage that displays God’s heart for us to “do good for our own good.” Notice the positive statements of favor and blessing:
- so that it may go well with you (verse 3)
- that you may increase greatly (verse 3)
- to give you — a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build (verse 10)
- give you houses filled with all kinds of good things (verse 11)
- then when you eat and are satisfied (verse 11)
- so that it may go well with you (verse 18)
- so that we might always prosper (verse 24)
These ancient commands reveal the character and will of God. He wants us to “do good for our own good.” It’s about how we can prosper.
The poverty gospel is a far worse problem in America than the prosperity gospel.
The evangelical culture has been poisoned and infected with an impoverished view of God and the Christian life. It’s called the poverty gospel.
The poverty gospel is a far worse problem in America than the prosperity gospel. We just don’t hear about the poverty gospel much because it is normal. It is heavily integrated into the thinking, culture, and systems of our preaching, churches, and denominations.
However, according to Deuteronomy 6, we see a God who wants blessing and favor in our life:
God is a good God.
He wants things to go well for us.
God is a God of increase.
He wants our lives to be enriched.
God is a giver of good gifts.
He’s thinking of cool gifts He can give us.
God enjoys seeing us happy.
He takes pleasure when we eat and are satisfied.
God is a God of prosperity.
He wants us to prosper in our lives.
These are God’s words, not mine.
Update: We’ve listened to Joel for over 10 years, and our faith strengthens every time we listen. Here are some common misconceptions about the Osteens and Lakewood Church:
“Well, doesn’t Joel preach the prosperity gospel?” The answer is no. Over the hundreds of messages we’ve listened to, I’ve never heard Joel say if I had enough faith then money, mansions, and cars will come my way. Also, I’ve never heard him say if you are sick and poor, it’s because you don’t have enough faith.
What I have heard him say is:
- God is for you
- Your best days are in front of you
- You will overcome every defeat
- You are victorious
- You are a child of the most high God
- Stay in faith
- You will fulfill your destiny
If that’s the prosperity gospel, then count me in. I guess some people like their gospel hardcore.
Honestly, the main problem in American evangelicalism is the “poverty gospel.” But we don’t hear much about that. I’ll need to write about that soon.
“Doesn’t Joel make millions from his church?” No. People hate the fact that he is wealthy, but they don’t know that Joel doesn’t take a paycheck from the church! He works at the church for free.
Joel lives off the sales of his books. For some people, that knowledge won’t matter. They still hate him. Incidentally, I have never heard him pressure anyone for money.
Over the ten years we have been listening to Joel, I’ve heard several stories that would surprise you concerning their generosity. The reason you don’t hear more is because they don’t brag about their giving in press releases and social media posts.
In a nutshell, the history of Lakewood and the Osteen family has been one of sacrificial generosity. They have given in unbelievable ways. Generosity is key to this story.
Could it be they have been blessed because of their generosity?
If you published a book and made millions, I would not care if you bought a mansion. It’s none of my business anyway. It’s the same with Joel. He can buy whatever he wants. He doesn’t take a paycheck from his church.
By the way, many biblical characters of the Bible were very wealthy for those who think pastors shouldn’t be wealthy.
“What about a false gospel?” Not true. He gives a salvation invitation at the end of every sermon to encourage people to put their faith in Christ. He even says the words “repent” and “sin” (gasp!).
If it’s a false gospel to ask people to put their faith in Christ by repenting of their sins, then something is way off.
Listen, Joel is not the enemy. I understand there are shady televangelists and rich pastors who have abused and manipulated their congregation for profit. However, this is not the case with Joel and Lakewood Church.
Jesus once said if someone is not against us, then they are for us. (Luke 9:50) Lakewood and the Osteen family are definitely for us and want to see God’s favor in our lives. Even the haters.
