God Doesn't Want You To Be Rich
Do material possessions really make you a better Christian?
I know this is a strange title, but I promise I have reasons for my opinion.
In my Religion 101 class, we are finally on the topic of Christianity, and he has brought to our attention Televangelists and "being rich." One article my professor has us read from 2006, titled "Does God Want You To Be Rich?" to set up the basis for the class topic. On the premise of televangelists, I had heard of some like Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Mike Murdock, Todd Coontz, James Payne and many many more.
Creflo Dollar, in particular, came to light in the media in 2015 when he created a campaign asking Christians for money to buy a 65 million dollar private jet. He used his wide range of media coverage to fund a personal and material want for a jet that has no benefit to the church.
Kenneth and Gloria Copeland are other examples of preachers using their reach to encourage their viewers to fund a 20 million dollar jet, but this time Kenneth claimed it would only be used for church business. Come to find out he was using it for more personal uses such as ski trips to Colorado and exotic animal hunting trips to South Texas.
What really confuses me is why do these high-end preachers even want these multimillion dollar planes? Why do they actually need them, if they even do at all? I will admit that I have a very narrow understanding of religion and material possessions, but I do certainly have my own opinion.
Many of these famous televangelists preach what is known as the "Prosperity Gospel," a teaching that gives faith in that fact of giving donations or "seeds" to a church, and God will gift you in return, with more. But the real question that I struggle with is, where exactly is that money going? To the church, to the pastor, to the workers, to charity?
I struggle with that because, if you're giving $1,000 seed, wouldn't you want to know where that's going. I certainly would not want to fund the payment of someone's multimillion-dollar private jet.
Why do these preachers deserve or even want a private jet funded by their viewers when there are starving children and amazing charities that they could be helping. Wouldn't it be more holy to put those $65 million dollars somewhere else, like a charity that funds housing for the homeless or for children, anything that would benefit more than the person flying in a said plane?
Think about how great of an impact that money could have on literally anything else. All those millions are being wasted on a private jet, those peoples money going towards a materialistic possession that benefits few.
It's so strange to me that people truly believe that funding these televised church preacher for their private jets, fancy cars, and huge mansions, will help them be rewarded by God.
I have a hard time buying a $20 dress because I think of all the other things I could spend that money on, not even in the sense of religious actions. That $20 could be spent on next week's groceries, or on a better note, could be donated to a charity foundation to benefit someone else, yet these preachers are happy spending millions on a private jet, how is that the Christian way?
Now as a disclaimer for this ending, I am not saying that I know Gods ways, I don't understand or know all of Gods teachings, and I will never know what he wants for others on this earth, but I do know my beliefs very well, and I hope this article brought some insight and made you think, whether about your own faith, or the morality of those in faith.
I have always thought it crazy that people even have the sense to buy extremely expensive possessions, but getting to know more about televangelists kind of brought this topic into my brain, and I really wanted to write about it. I don't believe God wants these preachers exploiting viewers in the many many ways that they may because, in my opinion, God would want us to do good for others, and not just for ourselves.
So be different than these preachers, next time you think about buying something overly expensive that you don't really need, think about where it could go that would benefit for more than just yourself.
