"God wants us to prosper financially, to have plenty of money, to fulfill the destiny He has laid out for us."
-Joel Osteen

"I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things."
-Isaiah 45:7

"It's God's will for you to live in prosperity instead of poverty. It's God's will for you to pay your bills and not be in debt."
-Joel Osteen

"Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?"
-Amos 3:6

The differences in these sets of quotes is striking. I picked Joel Osteen quotes, not because I have a particular problem with him, but because he happens to be one of the most popular preachers in America right now. He is also one of the leading teachers of what many people are calling "the prosperity gospel." The gist of it is that God wants to bless you financially, and if you live a good life, do good, and think positive thoughts, God will show you favor. You will find yourself wealthy and influential because this is what God wants for you.

Well, doesn't he? I'm certainly not going to say that God doesn't want to bless us. And as for prosperity, the Bible does mention it: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." -Jeremiah 29:11. This verse has gotten quite a bit of play lately. What these prosperity pastors don't tell you is that just prior to this verse, God has told Israel of His intent to bring the world to its knees so they will realize their great need for a Holy and eternal God.

The point of this often misquoted jewel is not to tell us that God has a particular interest in fattening our wallets, but that His plans are always good. His plans may bring us through struggle and calamity, but they will always make us prosper in the big picture. That means we may have a prosperous faith and a life that makes a difference, but an empty bank account. God is quite literally the only blessing human beings ever need and He knows that even if we don't. That means that in His economy, “prosperity” has a different definition. True prosperity is anything that brings us closer to the God we desperately need. We need a relationship with our creator more than we need air. We don't always want that, but God is concerned with what we need, not what we want.

If your child had a deep desire for a new video game system, but they were making C's in school, you probably would decide not to give them what they so deeply desire because it would distract them from their deeper need. In the short term, they might hate you or think you don't love them. You know that in the long-term, your decision is right and good and will benefit your child more than the instant gratification they were chasing after. God does the same with us.

First century Jews had a hard time identifying Jesus as the Messiah. He wasn't what they expected. Their interpretation of Scriptures left them expecting a King who would come with a conquering army, destroy the Romans and set up a new kingdom on this earth. They were looking for a conquering warrior who would solve their momentary struggle and improve their political situation.

In some ways, a lot of Christians who believe this prosperity gospel are doing the exact same thing. They are expecting a God who will make them financially successful and meet their short- term needs for money and property. The problem is, when bad things happen, we want to deny that God is responsible. We'll go and blame the devil or society or our boss or our spouse for our predicament.

What if God's primary concern isn't our happiness? What if He is trying to teach us something? What if He is giving us a challenging situation to mold us and to build us into the person He wants us to be? What if our definition of prosperity is entirely different than His?