Prosperity or Covetousness  

by Gene Easley  

    The Gospel of Christ is the most glorious message that man has ever heard.  There is forgiveness of sin, even for the vilest sinner.  There is healing for the body, even for the most hopeless case.  Deliverance from bondage is ours through Christ.  He promises to supply our material needs.  He will grant our petitions even in the most impossible situations.  Mountains are moved through faith in Christ.  Through Him we stand complete before the eyes of the Father.  The Gospel is indeed glorious!  

    But this glorious Gospel can be perverted.  Instead of leading us to God and sweet communion with Him, the perverted Gospel leads us away from God and leaves us void of His presence.  

    The perversions of the Gospel are many.  Extremists from every side have tried to side track the message of Christ.  Paul dealt with such a problem in his letter to the Galatians.  "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth…having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" (Galatians 3:1-3).  They were being taught that faith in Christ alone was not sufficient for salvation, and they were being required to observe the works of the law.  

    Peter warned of false teachers that would plague the church.  He warned against those who would be driven by hearts full of covetous desires.  "And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you" (2 Peter 2:3).  Today, this perversion of the Gospel has gone rampant through the Christian church.  Covetousness is being taught in the guise of Biblical prosperity.  The great promises of God to help in our times of need have been perverted to give permission to seek gratification for our fleshly desires.

   The Gospel of Christ is glorious.  But it is just as glorious to the person living in the mud hut as it is to the person surrounded by material wealth.  Persons living in third world countries with so little of this world's goods do not have to wait until they reach a higher standard of living before they can start shouting over the Gospel!  The inward peace and joy of knowing Him is what makes the Gospel so glorious.  "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Romans 14:17).  

    Christ can put a shout in your soul whether you are eating black beans three times a day in a small village in Guatemala or you are sitting at the table of plenty in America.  The "joy unspeakable and full of glory" isn't based on a bank account.  One television preacher said recently, in his attempt to promote the prosperity teaching, "You can't be a blessing if you are poor."  He obviously thought that only material things bring happiness.

    I realize from first-hand observation the misery and pain that poverty brings to so many.  I am not saying they do not need help, for they certainly do.  But supposing that money is the answer to all our problems is a deceitful lie of the enemy of our souls.  Pulpits today are full of preachers who seem to believe that Christ's purpose for dying on the Cross was to cause us all to float around in endless luxuries, while the poor unbelievers are left to die in their poverty and shame.  Many, maybe without realizing it, are teaching covetousness, not prosperity.  

    When God calculates wealth in Heaven, He won't be adding up how much money we had in the bank when we left this world or how many material treasures were titled to our name.  Our wealth will be measured by the lives we affected for Christ.  It is what we are doing for the kingdom's sake that matters.  Jesus made this clear to us when He said, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth."  He was saying that the temporal things we gain now would ultimately have no eternal value.

    How would Christians claiming endless earthly wealth in the name of Christianity interpret Hebrews 13:5?  The writer of Hebrews clearly says, "Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."  

    The Christian must find contentment in simply having a close relationship with the Lord.  The Christian's satisfaction and joy must not be based upon his financial status.  God knows our needs and has made provision through faith and prayer that we may have those needs met.  May God help us not to be deceived into thinking that the Gospel is a get-rich-quick plan for those who learn the magic formula!  Prosperity is not measured by a dollar sign but by an intimate relationship with the One who loved us and gave Himself for us.

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"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5).