I was looking through pictures of our church basement from a mission trip to Zambia. Zambia is a very poor country and I saw pictures of men and women smiling, seemingly satisfied with life. These men and women don't have what we in the west feel are necessities of life- a nice car, a nice house. technological gadgets. However, they seem happy.

    This made me realize that there must be another source of happiness besides the necessities or luxuries that we may crave. My thoughts then moved to the prosperity gospel teachers who teach believers that it is fine to crave wordly luxuries and God can help you gain those worldly luxuries.

     To be fair, the people who flock to the prosperity teachers are needy people who desperately want God to give them relief from poverty. We should be understanding towards them. Also, the people in poor countries who find happiness should still benefit from our service. Material needs are not discounted by God and neither should we discount the material needs of others. However, it is wrong for the prosperity teachers to encourage people to seek riches and to use faith to bring about material prosperity. 

     The vision of the prosperity gospel is against Jesus' vision. When Jesus called people to follow him, he called them to follow him to the cross, not seek the approval of the world. This means that if we follow Jesus, we must renounce the desire to be first in the world in riches, health, etc. Our goal should be heaven or the face of God, and our joy should be that God, through Jesus, assures us that we will reach our goal. That assurance is so strong that it is presented as a present reality, not just a future hope. 

     The face of God is on those who follow his commands. If our goal is heaven or the face of God, then our journey in life (our dreams, our decisions) should be characterized by following the Lord who gave himself up for people. Whether rich or poor, our journey should be characterized by service and not the pursuit of riches.