For The Love of Money

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” I Timothy 6:10

“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:24

The two Bible verses above really stuck with me as I read an article about preacher Joel Osteen entitled “God Wants Me to Be Rich” (http://www.portfolio.com/executives/features/2008/07/16/Megachurch-Preacher-Joel-Osteen). I have this feeling the two verses above never make it into Mr. Osteen’s sermons. The curmudgeon in me has a hard time embracing the “prosperity gospel”, as it is sometimes called, because it conjures up images of God wanting me to have a multi-million dollar house and a multi-million dollar bank account. While I admit these would be nice, I do not believe for one minute that God wants me to have these things. He may choose to bless me with these things as a result of my ability to work hard and work smart. What I believe God wants from me is to worship Him. Part of that worship entails stewardship of the money with which I am blessed.

Mr. Osteen is the minister at the country’s largest church. His church claims 45,000 members and generates $76 million in annual revenue, and carries $45 million in debt. Mr. Osteen does not draw a salary from his church, nor has he since 2005. However, all book royalties go to Mr. Osteen. He gives much of this back to the church. Still, at the end of the day, Mr. Osteen takes home quite a haul, perhaps justified given the size of the operation he oversees. I have no problem with the size of Mr. Osteen’s church, nor do I have any problem with any amount of money he may take home. But, as I contrast Mr. Osteen’s message with that of my own senior pastor (I belong to a church with 15,000 members and the pastor earns a comfortable salary), I come away with a sense that the prosperity gospel is not what Jesus preached. Does this mean that we should be poor? No! However, the accumulation of wealth for the sake of accumulating wealth and lavishing ourselves with only the most expensive items is not what God intended either.

My message in this is simple. Work hard, work smart. Work with passion, and work with pride. Invest wisely. If you make a ton of money, more power to you. I am not against making money. Nor do I believe in giving away so much that you become a charity case too. But give back to the community that has richly blessed you. Help those less fortunate. God does not want your outward signs of material wealth. He wants your heart and soul.