Wow, this spoke to me in so many ways, not just in terms of exposing the prosperity gospel. It’s nice to get encouragement like this for once and be told that suffering is really the norm for the Christian, not a sexy life which is proclaimed by so many today. It feels liberating to know that I ought to embrace suffering. That way I can stop scratching my head in confusion when it happens!
I also especially liked the point about riches making you so comfortable that the notion of dying to self becomes more foreign and antithetical. That’s a great point, and reminds me of the story of the rich young ruler. He would have been better off being poor for Christ’s sake, then rich for his own sake.
AMEN!
This truth is so plain to me now, but there was a time when the prosperity message was something I embraced to some degree. Like Piper said, it is on a sliding scale from moderate to extreme, but it is all false. It makes me weep at times because I know many people, both friends and family, who are caught up in this teaching or who just don’t see the importance of standing against it. Please pray for me as I seek to Lord as to how to stand for truth and also for those who I care for who are still blinded by this teaching.
November 7th, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Wow, this spoke to me in so many ways, not just in terms of exposing the prosperity gospel. It’s nice to get encouragement like this for once and be told that suffering is really the norm for the Christian, not a sexy life which is proclaimed by so many today. It feels liberating to know that I ought to embrace suffering. That way I can stop scratching my head in confusion when it happens!
I also especially liked the point about riches making you so comfortable that the notion of dying to self becomes more foreign and antithetical. That’s a great point, and reminds me of the story of the rich young ruler. He would have been better off being poor for Christ’s sake, then rich for his own sake.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
AMEN!
This truth is so plain to me now, but there was a time when the prosperity message was something I embraced to some degree. Like Piper said, it is on a sliding scale from moderate to extreme, but it is all false. It makes me weep at times because I know many people, both friends and family, who are caught up in this teaching or who just don’t see the importance of standing against it. Please pray for me as I seek to Lord as to how to stand for truth and also for those who I care for who are still blinded by this teaching.