These are best observed in connection with what is now known as “the prosperity gospel.” Talk about multi-million-dollar sales of religious books, multi-thousand-member churches, multi-hundred-thousand-dollar pastors’ incomes, and you are likely to be focusing on proponents of such a gospel. At its heart is the seizure by its preachers of a theme from a few lines of the Bible, a motif then magnified to encompass and exhaust all other biblical emphases. As Rosin tells it while focusing on some of those proponents, this Gospel assures that people who give hugely to an evangelist’s cause and church will prosper and may well soon own a “huge” house. “Huge” is a huge word in the dreams of the victims of the Prosperity Gospel.

Rosin shows how many pastors of this school of thought served as agents of unscrupulous lenders and home-sellers, guiding their parishioners to implausible, burdensome, certain-to-fail investments that did turn out to help occasion the Crash. While she is careful and as fair as possible to the Prosperity Gospel leaders, is sympathetic to the gullible, and resists being simply snide, it is impossible to read her accounts without giving at least a passing thought to the comparison of this Gospel with the vast majority of biblical texts. Some do talk about a loving and provident God, and do tell stories about some characters who prospered. However, most pages in the library called the Bible tell of people who, despite their best efforts, do not prosper; who suffer often-horrible diseases, and all of whom die. It is a book that describes evil but does not finally account for it. All of the dark sides, including those of the God of the Bible, get suppressed or explained away by the exploiters, some of whom, no doubt, sincerely believe the gospel they have invented.

It is hard, however, to write about what seems manifestly to be “a stench in the nostrils of God” without being accused of elitism, condescension, classism and racism. Most of the people about whom Rosin writes are African-American or Latino/Latina, people who were not born to comfort and privilege, for whom reasons to hope are few.

Rosin holds back from making final judgments on her subject. She does not quote Jeremiah or Jesus to make the point. Her stories make the point. Will the Prosperity Gospel outlive the worst times and features of the crash? She sees it as limited by the new economic realities, but not easily suppressed among gamblers and hopers.

Martin Marty’s The Prosperity Gospel and the Financial Crisis is used by kind permission from Sightings, a weekly newsletter of the Martin Marty Center at the University of Chicago Divinity School.

“…though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them” — Psalm 62:10.

That is good advice.  I need to hear it.

I have an abundance.  The question therefore is, “Where is my heart?”

The verse implies my heart will be set upon something. There must be something about the nature of riches that makes this idolatry more likely.

The verse implies I can (by God’s grace) set my heart somewhere else and lean away from this tendency.  I long for that to be true for me.

” Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” Luke 12:15-16 NASB

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down— this leaning wall, this tottering fence? They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse.      Selah Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.      Selah Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.
— Psalm 62

Howard Morrison is a partner in Arizona’s Morrison Ranch. He resides with his family in Austin, Texas.

i

I like making money. The more I can make the better.

Why should that be shocking or distasteful? That statement does not imply that I am obsessed with money, or that I am using money for evil purposes. It certainly doesn’t mean that I am dedicating my life to serving the dreaded Mammon instead of God. But as a practical matter, having money sure does come in handy.

I am convinced, however, that such blessings do not happen by luck or chance. Nor do they come by passively awaiting for God’s hand to start waving one’s career into life. It takes years of determination, persistence, politicking and hard work. It takes ambition, my friend.

So then, is ambition a sin or a virtue?

I guess it depends on how we characterize ambition. For the record, I’m not talking about the “I’m going to kill my father so I can become King” kind of ambition, but more of a good, healthy drive to prosper.

To religious folk, “prosper” is somehow a much more acceptable choice of words to use as opposed to “succeed.” Success is unfortunately taken by some to be the antithesis of spirituality, because it is associated with selfishness, materialism, worldliness and cutthroat-ism. If it is success that you seek, then some holier-than-thou will point a finger at you and ask the age-old question, “What does success really mean?” You will then have to come up with all these non-financial definitions of success, and in the end you’ll feel guilty for just wanting to get ahead in life. But prosperity is more straightforward. It’s not so loaded. It’s even biblical! And friends, let’s talk plainly here: prospering is very much about making money.

According to Miriam Webster:

Prosperity: The condition of being successful or thriving; especially : economic well-being

The thing I like about the word prosperity is that it wraps financial well-being in with the idea of “thriving.” So, in other words, it implies that you can reach your full potential as a human being using your gifts, talents and unique experiences, and then get very well- compensated for it. That sounds really nice. Thriving is good.

And doesn’t God want us to prosper? Who can forget this favorite verse thrown in to many an inspirational book?

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
-Jeremiah 20:11

Look at some of our spiritual forefathers from the Old Testament. Abraham, for instance. Now there was a sharp guy. He kept growing his herds and his land and his staff until he got to the point where he had a whole entourage of folks that had to move with him whenever God told him to pack up and go. He was very rich. Now, dear reader, we both know that doesn’t happen by chance! It takes will and ambition. And I think God liked him pretty much.

ii

Although God’s promises for prosperity are blatantly proclaimed all throughout the Old Testament, I can’t help but notice that the New Testament takes a more sober, cautious attitude towards money and wealth. I suppose it’s because Jesus was ministering mostly to the poor, and that’s who he spent most of his time with.  Plus, the economic and social environment of Roman-occupied Palestine in 30 AD was far less robust than our global economy of today, which most likely kept the poor in their place. The “rich” at the time were generally viewed as the oppressive bad guys, which is why they get a little Jesus-spanking from time to time.

Upon reviewing the New Testament teachings on money, it seems to me that Jesus is much more concerned with who we are as spiritual beings than what we do for work or how much money we make. I think his main concern was that people not hold their riches and wealth above God, or that they not put all their trust in themselves instead of God. Ok, so he did tell the one dude to sell everything and give it to the poor in Matthew 18. That was one time, one person. He also said to cut off your right hand and throw it away if it causes you to sin, but I don’t see pastors encouraging that particular practice in the church today either. Jesus was trying to make a point. He liked the shock-value of his comments, because it got people’s attention. And back then they didn’t have TV or the internet or sports or the other manifold vices available today that Jesus could have used as examples in his lessons. Can you imagine an American Jesus of 2010? Maybe he would have busted more on sports fanatics. Sports can be far more of an obsession to some men than money.

“A young man approached Jesus and asked: Lord, what must I do to be saved? Jesus replied, “Throw out your TV and give away your season ticket passes and your box seats, and never watch another football game again, and you will be saved. The young man walked away very sad, because he was a huge Giants fan.”
In the real scripture, Jesus follows this incident by telling the crowd of disciples that it’s harder for a rich man to get into heaven than it is for a camel to get through the eye of a needle. The disciples are now bewildered (as usual) and they say, “All right Jesus, enough drama. Really, how do you expect anyone to get into heaven, then?” This is one time I appreciate the dumb questions that those disciples asked. I lean in a little closer, to hear the answer. Jesus tells them, “You’re right, boys. Lucky for you, with God all things are possible. I’m just telling you to be careful not to get too caught up with money.” (My interpretation, of course.) Jesus makes it very clear that the truth is, God can shrink that camel like magic, and it’ll slip right through the needle, no problem! Everyone always forgets that part of the story.

iii

In reading the New Testament more closely for clues about Jesus’ view of ambition, I get the impression that it’s like, the party’s over from the Old Testament days, and we need to get down to spiritual business. Sell everything. Abandon your family. Don’t get married. Gouge out your eyes and cut off your hands and private parts if they make you sin. But, seriously, here I am thousands of years later in 21st century, living in a very different world than Jesus did. I wholeheartedly want to serve God, but I find that mammon is pretty much a requirement for living in a global economy. What am I supposed to do?

Good question. Yet there is a staggering silence from the pulpits regarding this subject.

In all the years that I have been a Christian, I have never been exposed to a framework for exploring career growth and financial security in the context of Christian spirituality. It seems like there is a huge gaping hole in the Christian sub-culture that leaves ambition, career and the pressures of the workplace out in the cold, out in the spiritual hinterlands or subject to the devil’s domain.

When I was growing up, the Evangelical church taught me that the only ambition that would truly please God was the passion for making disciples or leading others to Christ. So if you had a sincere spiritual desire to seek out God’s plan for your life, then by default your primary vocation was going to be a disciple-maker. Just like Jesus (you know, the missionary Jesus, not the working-for-the-family-business carpenter Jesus). But what if I am not “called” to that? What if my gifts, talents and personality are better suited for business pursuits?

I have always had a strong desire for spiritual growth and connectivity with God, to the point where I even considered seminary after graduating from college. I sincerely prayed about this decision and felt a definitive “no” coming from God. Maybe it was some bad soup I ate, or maybe I tapped in to some deeper instincts about myself, knowing that I was not cut out for the clergy.  Instead, through a series of bumbling decisions and circumstances and jobs, I discovered a strong interest and aptitude in business.  God has a way of eventually showing us what we are called for, even when we are clueless.

As I was freshly exploring the path of putting my unique gifts and talents to good use for economic gain instead of spiritual service, I struggled with the question of how to distinguish God’s calling for my life from my ego. Unfortunately, there weren’t any spiritually-based resources to bounce this question off of. It seemed that from the church’s point of view my career aspirations were now off-limits somehow. There wasn’t really a way to talk about my desire to prosper. These career issues were now my own private problems that my pastor or Christian books and radio weren’t going to help me with. This doesn’t make sense to me, because for most of us our careers are pretty much a consuming force of life throughout our early adulthood years. As we grow up and develop through our twenties and thirties, we want to make a difference. We want to have influence. We want to find out what we’re good at, and work at something we like. And we want to make money. Yet the church is pretty well silent on this subject. And sometimes, subtly disapproving.

Please let me take a moment to qualify, just to be crystal-clear. I’m not condoning greed and irresponsibility and stealing and making money at all costs.  Rather, I’m talking about doing it the old-fashioned way… through hard work, persistence, shrewdness, and using your God-given gifts and talents, within the guidelines and constraints of solid moral and ethical behavior. I also don’t want to confuse my ideas of ambition with the “health and wealth” teachings that I come across from time to time which promote the idea of coming into God’s financial blessings with no effort or planning or delayed gratification on our part. These ridiculous and superstitious teachings promote poverty more than anything else, because as long as people are putting the responsibility for wealth on someone or something else other than themselves (God, the lottery), they will most likely remain in the same condition as before. I’m talking about the idea of God wanting us to grow, to stretch, to go beyond our comfort zone and use all of our resources and creativity to become all that He has in store for us. By the sweat of our brow and work of our hands and sharpness of our mind, to courageously generate the confidence, character, maturity and self esteem that come from planning, persisting, overcoming obstacles, and reaching goals.

I won’t argue with the fact that greed can be a problem for some, but so can any myriad of other non-financial vices, such as envy, food, alcohol, sex, and sports, to name a few of the worst culprits. People get distracted and comforted by and obsessed with all sorts of things to replace God. Having a career and money should be thought of as just another aspect of our life and our resources that goes towards honoring God. I think it goes without saying that with money, like with adulthood, parenthood, and being a whole person, goes responsibility, good stewardship, and an obligation to operate with ethics and integrity. And that is true no matter who you are and how much money you make.