Prosperity Gospel: Part 3

Deuteronomy 8:18
18“And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

Remember that it is God that give me the power to get wealth.

Hmmm... I just realised that my previous posts highlighted the attitude towards a God that provides alot of things including wealth: the attitude of thanksgiving.

So why God wants to give us wealth? So that God can establish His covenant with us. No wonder Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are given wealth despite their lack of faith during their life time (read: their stories of protecting their own skins because of Kings wanting their respective wives, therefore not showing the power of God's protection). Put it another way, God uses wealth (and also health) to prove (establish) His promises (covenant) to His people.

I believe there are other ways for God to show His covenant to His people including the church. And granting wealth is one of them. What Moses is teaching here is that we should have a spirit of contentment and thanksgiving by remember the hand that feeds us.

Prosperity Gospel got its root because the Bible did teach that wealth is given to believers by God. What is scary is not the Gospel of receiving the blessings (prosperity), what we ought to be weary of is the attitude behind the prosperity gospel.

This is exactly what Deut 8:18 is trying to teach: Wealth is given by God so Do not forget God. Do not take Him for Granted. Do not treat Him like Your Genie.