I love God's promise to Joshua in the opening verses of the book of Joshua: "Keep this book of the law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." (Joshua 1:8, NIV)
However, I must quickly point out that I do not believe in the "prosperity gospel." Now, to be sure, I do believe God wants us to prosper. He gives us his word because he wants us to know how to be prosperous. He promises us that if we keep his word, we will be prosperous.
But what does it mean to be "prosperous?" And, how does one achieve it? I believe that the "prosperity gospel," gives the wrong answers to both these questions.
I will demonstrate this by responding specifically to the teaching of Joel Osteen.
Now, before I go any further I have to clearly state a few disclaimers. I am not attacking Joel Osteen personally. I don't know of anything that would cause me to question that he is a nice man, a good husband, and someone who has helped a lot of people. Many attacked Joel Osteen's character when he implied that he wasn't opening his church to victims of Hurricane Harvey. I was not one of them. With a church his size, he needed to work with emergency officials to know what would be most helpful to the community. People who did not know all the facts thought he was making some kind of self-serving decision. In time, the truth came out.
Neither am I questioning his salvation. I don't think it serves any purpose for me to form or share an opinion on that. No, I am interested in what he is teaching, and whether it is supported by the Scriptures. Everyone should examine what a teacher is saying and compare it with Scripture. The Bible even commends the Bereans, who "were of more noble character than the Thessalonians." Why? Because they "examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." (Acts 17:11) If it is noble to examine the teachings of the Apostle Paul in light of Scripture, certainly we should do so with preachers today, including myself.
But why Joel Osteen? Because he is presenting a particular pathway to success and has sold tens of millions of books. His teaching is representative of many other teachers on this topic. It is a topic that I am passionate about. I want to help others know how to become "prosperous and successful," and I believe the pathway he is presenting is not correct.
First, what does it mean to be "prosperous?" Joel Osteen claims he is not a prosperity preacher because he does not focus on how to become rich. Instead, he focuses on "having good relationships, health, accomplishing your dreams, having money to pay your bills, it's being blessed so you can be a blessing." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1aAJSnZttM). However, he often speaks about having faith to receive promotions and raises. (https://www.joelosteen.com/Pages/Article.aspx?articleid=6518.) He gives an example of looking for a good parking spot to explain prosperity. He claims we should say, "Father, I thank you for leading and guiding me. Your favor will cause me to get a good spot." (Your Best Life Now, 41). He also says that Christians can "expect preferential treatment" from other people (Your Best Life Now, 39). For Osteen, being prosperous is not simply about being rich, but it is about doing well financially (where "well" is up to the individual to define) and a host of other things, such as health and accomplishing your dreams.
Second, Joel Osteen defines positive thinking as the way to be prosperous. In his latest book, "Think Better, Live Better" Osteen says that God has programmed us so that "Whatever you touch will prosper and succeed." The reason we don't achieve this promise is because we have low self-esteem. If we can just get rid of negative thoughts and replace them with thoughts like, "I'm blessed. I'm strong. I'm healthy. I'm confident. I'm attractive," then we will be. (Think Better, Live Better, Chapter 1).
However, the Bible gives us a completely different view of what prosperity is and how to obtain it. The Bible says that we were created for God's glory (Isaiah 43:7) and that we are to "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness." (Matthew 6:33) Paul writes, "What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ."
The Bible also tells us over and over again that the way to success is not in thinking positive thoughts about ourselves, but in thinking about God's word and obeying it. That is what God says in his promise in Joshua 1:8, that if we meditate on God's word and carefully obey it we will be prosperous and successful. Osteen actually quotes Joshua 1:8 (or I should say, he claims to quote Joshua 1:8) in his latest book. But in order to make the verse fit his teaching, he actually completely changes the wording of the verse:
"This is what the Lord told Joshua after Moses had died and he was to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land: 'If you will meditate on what God says about you day and night, you will have good success and prosper in everything you do.' When your mind is filled with thoughts of faith, thoughts of hope, and thoughts of victory, that's what will become a reality."
-Joel Osteen, Think Better, Live Better
Anyone examining the Scriptures to see if these things are so need look no further than what Joel Osteen does with this verse. He is actually putting words in God's mouth, saying something that the Scripture simply does not say, and is totally different than what the verse actually says.
Rather than expecting preferential treatment from others, Jesus says, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you." (Luke 6:27-28) He tells us that the successful person is the one who "hears these words of mine and puts them into practice." (Matthew 7:24) He also describes this as taking his yolk on you and learning from him (Matthew 11:29)
When we study Scripture and do what it says we will be blessed (James 1:25). We will also often think negative thoughts about ourselves, for the Scriptures reveal sinful thoughts, words, actions, and attitudes for us to keep working on (Hebrews 4:12). As a Christian, there is much to be positive about. However, negative thinking is often helpful if we are going to grow and truly become successful. Even a recent news article touts the "power of negative thinking."
Ultimately, none of us can be successful without first recognizing our sinfulness and then turning to Christ as our only hope of righteousness and eternal life. Positive thinking will not help me in the slightest with my greatest problem- my guilt before a holy God.
We will see true prosperity in our lives when we make God's kingdom and righteousness the definition of success and humbly study and apply the Scriptures to our lives, seeking the help of Christ and the Holy Spirit. This will lead to joy, peace, and great accomplishments, as well as a reward beyond what we can imagine. It will not necessarily keep us from persecution and hardship. I think the book of Hebrews gives a powerful description of success, and I end with that:
Hebrews 11:32-40
And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith"
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