Prosperity Or Poverty - What Does The Bible Really Say

I have never been so determined to keep an article short. The point here is so important that I would not want it to be buried in a lengthy diatribe that only added more confusion to the abounding controversy that has already arisen.

The saddest thing about the whole controversy is that it may become yet another reason for unbelievers to remain just as they are. Christianity should be known for its presentation of the immutable gospel of Jesus Christ not a series of constant controversies and disputations. It strains the credulity of any reasonable man to read about the horrific persecution of believers in over fifty countries while the big question in America is whether Christians should all be floating in God given riches.

Today thousands of Christians in Islamically controlled countries are facing the very loss of life and limb while American Christians are debating whether God is supposed to be giving them all untold riches, houses and lands. Sound silly, it is but that’s exactly what one proponent of the goody gospel espouses. In the Time magazine article “Does God Want You to be Rich” Kirbyjon Caldwell said “God wants you to own land. The entire Old Testament is all about land. Land represents that God is with you and God has blessed you.”

Between the recent interview of Joel Osteen by Barbara Walters and the September 18, 2006 issue of Time on the same subject one question comes to mind. Why is America so engrossed in this question about Christians seeking wealth or resigning to poverty? More importantly is the question, does the Bible really present a conflict on the issue or is it yet again, man meddling with the message?

Time, a largely secular news outlet gave a fair presentation of both sides and included the scriptural proof texts used by each side. They quoted such Christian notables as Rick Warren, Joyce Meyer, Kirbyjon Caldwell and Ron Sider. They gave a fair breakdown of the general views of others on the subject as well such as T. D. Jakes and Creflo Dollar. How I wish they might have attempted to balance it all with a quote from the late Kathryn Kuhlman.

I will have to paraphrase the statement I once heard on Kathryn’s radio program because it was so long ago that I heard it. But forget it I never will, I hope no one else will ever forget it either.

What she said is that we should never isolate and amplify any verse of scripture to the exclusion of other verses that also speak to the same subject. Simply put this means, don’t teach or make a big deal out of one verse and forget the other verses that also talk about the same thing.

The verse of scripture I will quote here gives support to neither side of the argument and yet it is the final and consummate answer to the whole matter. The verse takes its authority as final in the matter not from me, but rather from a sovereign God who decides each mans destiny, and each mans wealth or the lack of it on a one to one individual basis.

I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 17:10

The heart is still deceitful and desperately wicked (Jer 17:9) in the twenty first century and we would like to level the ground that God alone has reserved to his own regulation. Those who persist in this argument could find themselves coming under the same kind of rebuke that Peter got when he questioned the fate of another apostle after hearing of his own. (John 21:19-22)

Only a sovereign God has the right and the wisdom to decide who gets what portion in this world. Teaching believers that God has one plan for all is flying in the face of Gods authority to plant, lead and call to accountability every person he calls. Each of us must account for what we do with what we are given; the parable of the talents is proof that not all receive the same portion. (MT 25:15)

Here’s the bottom line. Whether you believe in the prosperity gospel or the austere life of denying worldly possessions there is one rule for all and that rule comes from God not either one of the aforementioned groups. That rule is, and always will be Jeremiah 17:10.

The real danger especially in the prosperity gospel is that it is not a universal gospel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ can be preached and produce genuine converts in any nation or community on earth. The prosperity gospel can only be preached in America and Western Europe in large part. That means it is coming dangerously close to what the Apostle Paul called “another gospel” (Galatians 1:8-9)

Years ago God spoke to the heart of Pastor David Wilkerson of New York’s, Times Square Church about a coming time of great distress in this nation where the entire fiscal health of the country will collapse. He spoke the same thing to my heart over two decades ago. I’d rather not mention this to anyone, I’d rather I didn’t hear it, but I did and I have no doubt it is nearer now by far than when I first heard this message so clearly.

Whether anyone heeds the message and whether they have the heart to see through the obvious weakness and error of the prosperity gospel is not up to me. One thing is certain. Those who insist on this gospel and their respective churches will be hit the hardest when the time comes. Conversely, those who have learned to live in the portion they are given and are content, will be affected least. As always with the great things God does…the choice is yours.

Suffice it to say that when such a question reaches the height of being examined by one of the media’s biggest interviewers, Barbara Walters it may be time to dig in and find the real answer. The Time magazine front cover was splattered with a picture of a Rolls Royce sedan with a huge gold cross as a hood ornament. The caption for the picture read “Does God Want You to be Rich.”

For some Christians Time’s cover may be a bit embarrassing but what it should really do is make us ashamed. Where have all those preachers gone who used to ask only, “Does God want you to be saved?”

 Rev Michael Bresciani 

The Roots Of Poverty

I have never been so determined to keep an article short. The point here is so important that I would not want it to be buried in a lengthy diatribe that only added more confusion to the abounding controversy that has already arisen.

The saddest thing about the whole controversy is that it may become yet another reason for unbelievers to remain just as they are. Christianity should be known for its presentation of the immutable gospel of Jesus Christ not a series of constant controversies and disputations. It strains the credulity of any reasonable man to read about the horrific persecution of believers in over fifty countries while the big question in America is whether Christians should all be floating in God given riches.

Today thousands of Christians in Islamically controlled countries are facing the very loss of life and limb while American Christians are debating whether God is supposed to be giving them all untold riches, houses and lands. Sound silly, it is but that’s exactly what one proponent of the goody gospel espouses. In the Time magazine article “Does God Want You to be Rich” Kirbyjon Caldwell said “God wants you to own land. The entire Old Testament is all about land. Land represents that God is with you and God has blessed you.”

Between the recent interview of Joel Osteen by Barbara Walters and the September 18, 2006 issue of Time on the same subject one question comes to mind. Why is America so engrossed in this question about Christians seeking wealth or resigning to poverty? More importantly is the question, does the Bible really present a conflict on the issue or is it yet again, man meddling with the message?

Time, a largely secular news outlet gave a fair presentation of both sides and included the scriptural proof texts used by each side. They quoted such Christian notables as Rick Warren, Joyce Meyer, Kirbyjon Caldwell and Ron Sider. They gave a fair breakdown of the general views of others on the subject as well such as T. D. Jakes and Creflo Dollar. How I wish they might have attempted to balance it all with a quote from the late Kathryn Kuhlman.

I will have to paraphrase the statement I once heard on Kathryn’s radio program because it was so long ago that I heard it. But forget it I never will, I hope no one else will ever forget it either.

What she said is that we should never isolate and amplify any verse of scripture to the exclusion of other verses that also speak to the same subject. Simply put this means, don’t teach or make a big deal out of one verse and forget the other verses that also talk about the same thing.

The verse of scripture I will quote here gives support to neither side of the argument and yet it is the final and consummate answer to the whole matter. The verse takes its authority as final in the matter not from me, but rather from a sovereign God who decides each mans destiny, and each mans wealth or the lack of it on a one to one individual basis.

I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 17:10

The heart is still deceitful and desperately wicked (Jer 17:9) in the twenty first century and we would like to level the ground that God alone has reserved to his own regulation. Those who persist in this argument could find themselves coming under the same kind of rebuke that Peter got when he questioned the fate of another apostle after hearing of his own. (John 21:19-22)

Only a sovereign God has the right and the wisdom to decide who gets what portion in this world. Teaching believers that God has one plan for all is flying in the face of Gods authority to plant, lead and call to accountability every person he calls. Each of us must account for what we do with what we are given; the parable of the talents is proof that not all receive the same portion. (MT 25:15)

Here’s the bottom line. Whether you believe in the prosperity gospel or the austere life of denying worldly possessions there is one rule for all and that rule comes from God not either one of the aforementioned groups. That rule is, and always will be Jeremiah 17:10.

The real danger especially in the prosperity gospel is that it is not a universal gospel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ can be preached and produce genuine converts in any nation or community on earth. The prosperity gospel can only be preached in America and Western Europe in large part. That means it is coming dangerously close to what the Apostle Paul called “another gospel” (Galatians 1:8-9)

Years ago God spoke to the heart of Pastor David Wilkerson of New York’s, Times Square Church about a coming time of great distress in this nation where the entire fiscal health of the country will collapse. He spoke the same thing to my heart over two decades ago. I’d rather not mention this to anyone, I’d rather I didn’t hear it, but I did and I have no doubt it is nearer now by far than when I first heard this message so clearly.

Whether anyone heeds the message and whether they have the heart to see through the obvious weakness and error of the prosperity gospel is not up to me. One thing is certain. Those who insist on this gospel and their respective churches will be hit the hardest when the time comes. Conversely, those who have learned to live in the portion they are given and are content, will be affected least. As always with the great things God does…the choice is yours.

Suffice it to say that when such a question reaches the height of being examined by one of the media’s biggest interviewers, Barbara Walters it may be time to dig in and find the real answer. The Time magazine front cover was splattered with a picture of a Rolls Royce sedan with a huge gold cross as a hood ornament. The caption for the picture read “Does God Want You to be Rich.”

For some Christians Time’s cover may be a bit embarrassing but what it should really do is make us ashamed. Where have all those preachers gone who used to ask only, “Does God want you to be saved?”

Isaiah Hull 

No Need To Fear Poverty As It Can Be Overcome By Focusing On Super Prosperity

‘When Poverty enters from the front door of a house, the Love runs away from the back door’. That is a saying from the past and is equally true in the modern times too. And to safe-guard love at home, as home is where the heart is, we should not leave the door open for the ruinous poverty to slide in, even a little bit. The poverty, the destroyer of love spells doom.

We have seen at least a glimpse of poverty at certain stages in life. Haven’t we?

We see the dreadful shadow of poverty when we loose a job, get laid off even temporally, suffers a heavy financial loss, find unable to make ends meet, encounter deficiencies of income, fall in to heavy debt etc. At such a time a nice house-hold would appear a hell-on -earth to one who is under the shade of poverty.

What causes poverty? Is it ‘the stars and stars above us that that governs our fate’, or is it our own negative thought patterns or is the poverty the result of bad luck. Let us analyze.

As believed from earliest times, if it is the fate that causes poverty, then it can be overcome with determined endeavor as we can see many examples of people who were in utter poverty but with courageous attempts were able to overcome it and build vast fortunes for themselves and generations to follow, Walt Disney’s story is one good example. The world abounds with poof that the fate can be over come with consistent purpose-focused-efforts. The secret is the rubber ball principle. That is a rubber ball bounces back when it is dropped down. Greater its fall higher it bounces. The life too has its falls. The falls are the failures in life. Every time you fall, if you bounce back like the rubber ball, then your failures will support you to bounce back to success. When continued with an unruffled determination you will go on falling and bouncing higher and higher to reach your focused level of attainment.

If it is not the fate but it is ones own negative thought-patterns that slip one in to a poverty situation (as present day theorists believes), then too the poverty can be overcome. The negative thoughts can be replaced with positive thoughts with focused efforts to leave no room in the mind for negative thought patterns to dominate. Once the mind is built up with positive thoughts the pin-point focus should be on reaching your life’s purpose. Then the positive thoughts will give enough power to one to energetically spring up to a high level of prosperity overcoming setbacks at poverty levels. This in other words is putting ‘Think and believe everything is Possible’ in to practice.

If for instance, it is nothing else but one’s bad luck that brings misfortune that leads one to poverty, as many people think, and then too it can be overcome. There is a saying that goes on like this… “Luck is nothing else, but the end product of Pluck.” Yes, ‘Pluck’ means courage.

And with undeterred courage (that can even move mountains) poverty can be moved out of sight. Therefore, we need not worry even if the poverty situation resulted due to bad luck.

As you see what ever the causes of poverty may be, what we need to avoid poverty is focused, unwavering, resolute, dogged courage. With courage you also need cast-iron focus at a vision, a definite goal set high above the poverty level. Importantly, it has to be at a higher level of prosperity well above the reach of poverty. Thus, a goal at super Prosperity level should be the focus. That is a level that ensures Financial Freedom. It will be a level of effortless wealth generations to fulfill your and your loved ones dreams and fill your home with love.

Today more and more people from poverty levels with nothing reach prosperity level than any other time in history. Find out what secrets they use reach such heights in Prosperity by defeating Poverty. What ideas, what proven methods are available today for you to do the same. You can know more about ideas and secrets of wealth generation and on proven methods used by some people to climb from lowest poverty levels to super prosperity levels at my website: http://www.chanano.com

Copyright © Chandrasoma Perera

Chandrasoma Perera

Poverty In Africa

Poverty is a scary word for a lot of people. It resembles a disease which gets into every organ and kills it from inside. There is an easy cure to this illness-money, but in most cases it’s an unreachable dream. There are poor people in every country in the world; however the extent of their poverty varies greatly from country to country. Taking for instance Switzerland with its profits and per capita earning, even assuming that there is a needy class of people, it is obvious that they have enough food, decent living conditions and access to medical care when required. Other parts of the world cannot claim such high standards of social security.

One of the most chaotic political systems in the modern world is found on the African continent. Historically it so occurred that there were numerous tribes, which later became countries occupied by white men who imposed their rules and culture upon their own. Those revolutionary movements caused anarchy in its governments and from that point on only money could do business. People who had money had everything, and got even more when got to the top. All of that nowadays results in a huge difference in material sense between classes. Those who are on the top will hardly ever agree to go down and those in slump will never get as much sun as the rich ones.

It is clear that poor adults are not living in paradise on earth. What about their children though? How do they survive in those conditions? It is a very complicated issue for a researcher as it has numerous issues in it and cultural features, which may not be discovered in one day. This surviving business however is a thorny route to walk on. War and disease and AIDS in particular have nearly doubled the number of orphans on the continent, from 3.5 million in 1990 to nearly 6 million in 2001.Today this number is probably over 8 million, as African population is constantly growing despite the fatal illnesses and horrible conditions of life.

Certainly there are children in Africa who live with their parents, most of them are poor and a few have money. But I would like to concentrate on those who are outcasts, who ran away from homes or who simply lost their parents. Their world is very tough where everyone takes care only of oneself. It’s not even a rule, but a mentality there says a 12 year old Bidemi Ademibo who lives at Kuramo Beach in Nigeria. She lives with other girls most of whom are orphans and one managed to escape slavery, which a lot of people believe does not exist anymore. Those girls used to live in a little shack made up with cardboards until one night a gang of young men had poured gasoline over it and set it on fire. That is how they were fighting for the space on the beach and could care less if all of them have burnt to death. They were lucky though to survive to lead their gloomy existence. Unfortunately children like Bidemi are an unavoidable sight in Africa, from Senegal to Somalia, from Egypt to South Africa. The beach on which children like Bidemi live is not a place for living really even for very tough adults. This village full of tenants is not a community but rather a collection of people who encountered trouble elsewhere and came looking for fresh opportunity in Lagos. It has been an illegal settlement for generations, but authorities could not crack it down, partially out of fear that to do so would generate unrests.

There is no running water here, vendors have to haul it in from the mainland and sell it at high prices. It can only mean that the children do not get enough water, which causes multiple disease and early deaths in Africa. There is no proper sanitation; a bay that separates the strip of beach from Victoria Island is the people's toilet. And there is no electrical service, although some people have illegally tapped into the city grid, running wires into their homes. Clearly such complete unsanitary does add to the already “easy” life of growing teenagers, and especially girls as in case with Bidemi.

Some children and even adults on the beach survive by selling fish, which they catch in the nearby contaminated canal or the ocean. Others operate small businesses out of their pathetic shacks built with cardboards. As in most societies it is harder for women than for men to survive here and they have to sell their bodies earn pennies to buy food. Surprisingly, good life is unbelievably close, so close these people can see hotels and hear the music; they just could not enjoy this life. Across the bay some of the most expensive hotels in Africa are located, where a standard room can cost $320 a night, which is more than hat people in Kuramo make working whole year.

Bidemi is only 12 but she has a rough life with new challenges every day. Being a runaway makes her an easy target for anyone who is a bit stronger that her. Especially it makes her a desirable object for men wanting sex; she says they often approach girls of different ages demanding sex and if kids are alone, men could easily get what they want. Those girls have no social security, they do not have even parents and their government could care less about such "trivial" problems as homeless unprotected and most of the time hungry children. A normal human understanding of this problem should cause people to reevaluate one’s own life and fortunes most of us are blessed with. Thinking about things through which these poor souls have to struggle makes me shiver, realizing that I have never felt real hunger or need in my life. Immediately I want to take better care of things I own and stop throwing out clothes, stop storing food in the refrigerator and then getting rid of the spoiled one. It is just such a waste of money which could be spent on something more useful. Not too many people are occupied with charity organization, even those who have time and means for it. It’s a pity that people who can save at least one life do not consider it important enough to be bothered. Those who are not in need should just be happy because of having food and roof over their heads. Compared with children such as Bidemi, most of us living in civilized world do have any serious problem as constant search for a piece of bread.

Bidemi and the rest of her gang walk to the break of the ocean in the end of an exhausting day, which was filled with helpless attempts to find a job. They splash in the cool waves of the dangerous ocean, for them though, it’s the friendliest and safest place because there no people around at the time. They are happy for a moment. Turning back to reality will be unpleasant but necessary for them fragile girls, as they are fighting for life.

Author: Jeff Stats

The Roots Of Poverty

Remedying only the superficial manifestations of the deeper underlying problems of extreme poverty will never end poverty itself. At best, this approach will temporarily relieve urgent problems; at worst, it will exacerbate them or create long-term trade-off problems. If we want to eliminate poverty, we must look at its roots and apply sustainable, pragmatic development solutions.

There are many popular misconceptions about underdeveloped countries that prevent both politicians and private citizens from seriously considering solutions. Some people think less developed countries (LDCs) are poor as the result of laziness, mismanagement, and corruption. While corruption and mismanagement do play a role in the inefficient and criminal diversion of aid funds, they definitely do not make it impossible to conduct successful development operations--unless, of course, we use corrupt regimes as a justification to not give aid at all.

So what are some of the common root causes of poverty? Each of the following roots of poverty can be eliminated through development projects when they bypass government involvement or develop mutual-accountability agreements with governments to ensure the best results for the program constituents:

Geographic Isolation:

Geographic isolation actually occurs on two levels: 1) within regions and continents; and 2) within countries. The first type of geographic isolation generally includes countries that are landlocked hundreds of miles away from the closest port. These countries end up paying excessive fees and costs for freight to export and import goods. The other type of isolation--that occurs within countries-- generally includes villages that are separated from the rest of the country because of a lack of infrastructure. These villages typically lack electricity, adequate food markets, and adequate sources of clean water.

Inadequate Access to Medical Clinics:

Most citizens of the Third World lack access to medical clinics and basic medical counseling. This is generally because governments in LDCs do not have enough resources to sponsor sufficient medical programs. Many LDCs also lack medical professionals as a result of underfunded educational systems. When people cannot visit clinics regularly, they do not get the counseling they need to prevent illness and often end up incapacitated by easily- curable illnesses and parasites, such as worms.

Underfunded Education:

Many citizens of the Third World also lack access to education. Since governments in LDCs do not have funds to provide an educational system for all students, they often create unreasonably hard standardized testing systems to prevent students from graduating; and even when they do pass the tests, they are often held back because there simply are not enough resources to support them. Without access to basic and vocational education, new generations in LDCs are being severely limited in both future choices and ability to contribute to the country’s development.

Inadequate Access to Nutritious Food:

Much of the Third World lacks the money and resources to eat or grow a nutritious diet--and instead must subsist on one meal each day of starchy local food staples and vegetables. This leads to severe undernutrition in both adults and children, the often-fatal malnutrition-infection cycle in infants and young children, and high-incidence of diabetes in adults. Many people--specifically in certain geographic areas--also lack the means to cook meals. This causes those affected to choose between hunger and food- borne illness.

Inadequate Access to Improved Water & Sanitation Facilities:

These two problems are actually intimately linked: in areas where people do not have access to improved sanitation facilities, they often end up contaminating sources of groundwater with human waste, which often leads to the spread of worms and water-borne illness. Inadequate access to improved water sources, such as pumps and wells, forces people in geographically isolated areas to spend hours each day just retrieving water, often from dirty sources. This prevents most people from getting an adequate amount of clean drinking water, raising incidence of water-borne illness and general dehydration.

Author: Isaiah Hull