by By Daniel Kimeu
We all want to live well and prosper. We want to live in the best neighborhoods, drive the best cars, live long lives, and, when our time comes to exit the earth, do so on our own terms. We are also in a transactional era – we live for something. Unfortunately, we have extended this expectation to God. Since we have “given” Him our lives, He is somehow obligated to give us good health, and riches.
In step, preachers have found a way of selling this: Give God your money and He will, in return, open the floodgates of heaven and shower you with this “blessing” of living and dying on your terms. The modern Gospel landscape has a batch of ministers whose style of “evangelism” is to woo people to God so that He can “bless” them and save them from their poverty and problems. While God wants to save and bless those who trust Him, what entails these blessings? Good health? Material wealth? A path with no notch on the road?
This view of the gospel has come to be known as the Prosperity Gospel and, in my own words, prospel. At its core, prosperity theology stipulates that financial blessing is the will of God for believers and that faith, positive thinking and donations to Christian ministries will always bring material wealth. Proponents of material prosperity focus on the laws of faith and the doctrine of reciprocity: “Give, and it will be given back to you.” Hence, if we apply and confess these laws to God, He will deliver His promise of security and prosperity. To these preachers, Christians can live without limits.
But is it always so? How many Christians are living in poverty? How many are in hospitals, sick and bedridden?
Ills of the Prosperity Gospel
The Prosperity Gospel has distorted the understanding of God’s purpose for man and through it, salvation has been reduced to a call of convenience. A call of convenience, as described by theological scholars, is when people accept Christ so that He can bless them. Wealth and health preachers package their messages to attract as many as possible by promising them that God’s plan for salvation entails financial goodies if only they apply their faith right. These calls are self-serving to these preachers because they know that as followers grow, so will their personal bank accounts.
Financial success is not evil. It is even desirable by those who want to make a significant impact on the world. Christian ministry needs financial resources. So, no, I am not saying we must live deplorably and become charity cases.
I am against the prosperity gospel because it is unbiblical and promises things that do not align with the reality of our faith.
This misapplication of scriptures has resulted in a modern form of persecution that we must address today. A simple definition of persecution is any form of hostility that believers experience due to their identification with Christ. Persecution takes many forms. To some, it involves inflicting physical pain, yet for others, it is the emotional, social and mental cost you pay for following Christ.
The prosperity gospel is delivered in ways that are hostile to the human psyche. It equates material prosperity with divine favor, causing many to believe that wealth is a sign of salvation. Therefore, if I am not well off materially, those whose focus is prosperity will likely alienate me as not “fully” saved, or I will be pushed to believe that God is not pleased with me. If my faith is founded on this perspective, then I will never enjoy salvation if I am not healthy and wealthy.
This transactional view of faith creates a salvation-by-convenience attitude, where individuals come to Christ primarily for personal gain rather than seeking true spiritual transformation. We see God as our convenience store, where we can shop for whatever we want by applying the currency of faith. Unfortunately, this attitude cultivates an endless cycle of desire, where contentment becomes elusive. Even after acquiring the material wealth we seek, we often find ourelves in greater conflict – both internally and externally, because materialism fails to address deeper spiritual needs.
The Bible warns us against pursuing material wealth as the central focus of our faith. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus spent considerable time explaining the secrets of the Kingdom God was establishing. Jesus addresses the futility of storing treasure on earth and the danger of becoming enslaved to wealth. Uncontrolled desires for material prosperity often lead people away from faith into spiritual ruin.
Prosperity Gospel makes the poor poorer
It is unfortunate that most prospel preachers do well in poverty-stricken places. They “sell” hope to already afflicted people – promising them that God will make them prosper if they learn to apply their faith in the form of giving the little they have. Like the woman in Zarephath (1 Kings 17), the poor genuinely give all their flour to the “prophet”, but their pots are never refilled. Instead, the prophet keeps coming back for more, and if there is no more flour left, the poor have no other choice but to give their pot as well. They give away what they have in an attempt to “break the barrier” of poverty. This is driven by the belief that material blessings are tied to laws of faith, such as giving, donations, and confessions.
The theological basis is rooted in a misinterpretation of scriptures like Malachi 3:10. If this is not harassment, then I don’t know what it is!
Unfortunately, most congregants of the prosperity gospel remain materially poor, which directly contradicts its central teachings. In an article by Asamoah on the charismatic worldview of the prosperity gospel in Africa, the clergy interviewed admitted that many of their followers had not experienced the material prosperity they were promised but somehow blamed it on their followers’ lack of faith.
When preachers emphasize tithing and giving as a precondition for financial blessings, it creates a vicious cycle where the poor sacrifice the little they have, hoping for a breakthrough that often does not come. This further impoverishes them, while the preachers amass wealth, which they use to further their prospel agenda.
This prosperity-centered faith results in disillusionment when material blessings do not manifest. Givers develop a sense of spiritual failure or God’s perceived abandonment. Individuals drawn to the gospel primarily for material reasons will experience a crisis of faith when these blessings are delayed or absent.
Besides, this doctrine ignores people’s deeper spiritual needs, which are salvation, spiritual growth and personal transformation through sanctification. The idea that God rewards faithfulness primarily through material prosperity has distorted the true message of the gospel, which is about grace and eternal life, not merely financial well-being.
So, what now?
True Christianity is primarily about spiritual transformation. The real essence of salvation is the pursuit of spiritual blessings—peace, joy, salvation, and ultimately, eternal life. Jesus’ teachings on marks of discipleship emphasize self-denial, carrying one’s cross, and enduring hardship, all for the sake of eternal life (Luke 9:23).
Salvation, and discipleship should never be about our convenience, but about the conviction of our own insufficiency and consequent reliance on God for first, the forgiveness of our sins, but also for a continued knowledge of Him who saved us. It is not our responsibility as preachers to promise people God’s material blessings. Our sharp focus should be on spiritual prosperity. We should call believers to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33), with the assurance that their needs will be met according to God’s will—not through a transactional relationship but through a deep, faith-based trust in His provision.
Ultimately, the gospel is about reconciliation with God, not wealth and health. Precious to God is strong and pure faith (1 Pt 1) that manifests in the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). This is far more valuable than temporal prosperity. The precious blood of Jesus was shed for eternal rewards, and when we focus on these, we will avoid the pitfalls of materialism and align ourselves with the true will of God — to know Him and live for Him alone.
Dan Kimeu is the author of “Forgiveness: Love and Grace Unchained”.
