The last time I checked, there was a quotation somewhere in the Bible that reads "Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and all else shall be added." Well it seems the modern so called "men of God" have kind of edited the Bible to make that phrase become "seek ye first the material things of this life and worry about Heaven when you die."
Why do I sound so convinced you ask? Well walk (ok now they are hi-tech so you can tune in on your TV) into any "charismatic" church and there's is 98% chance of you hearing the "pastor" talk about how the people in the congregation are all destined to be the next millionaires, how they will each buy the latest BMW car, how they are going to build that dream house and a whole lot of what I call materialism programing.
Now Jesus Christ himself has said somewhere in the Bible that the poor will always be with you, they will always be in your midst. The "pastor" is also saying all his congregation will be rich. Which is which. The video above is not the exception, no. That is the norm these days. In the video, you hear the pastor tell his congregation how much they need to spend as offertory to have the "blessing" that is in store for them. What hogwash!
This prosperity Gospel menace has become a serious canker in the African society today. At least over here in Ghana, it is just abhorring. I personally know people who are saddled with massive debts because they took loans to buy expensive cars just because their "pastors" had "prophesied" that they would. People are now being programed to become materialists, struggle all their lives to acquire all the fleeting glitterings of this world. Very few of the churches these days are really caring for the souls of the people, preaching the true Gospel with which Jesus Christ came. The concept of contentment with little is a taboo!
What happens to a society whose people have been programed to become materialists, seeking to fulfill the baseless and false prophecies of con men? What happens to a society whose people are only focused on buying the latest and most expensive items when in reality, those items are out of the reach of the majority? What happens to a society whose "men of God" charge their docile congregation *money* in order to "bestow" upon them the "blessings of God?"
There is no doubt that not everyone will be rich in their lives, not everyone will buy a car or own a house in their lives. Some people who are government workers sometimes find it hard to even pay for rent. But one thing that is certain is that everyone will die someday. And as the Bible itself says, "man is destined to die once and after that judgment." What preparation are people making for this certain journey? For this impending and imminent judgment?
What happens when the people of a society become materialists is that there will be mischief, corruption will increase on the earth. Simply because people will start to live lives that are way beyond them. Buy things that they really do not have any point in buying. You have the youth today who roam from church to church seeking pastors who will "bless" their internet scam activities. There is corruption everywhere because people have been told to seek the glitters of this world, believe in instant gratification, live in false and erroneous beliefs that they are destined to be rich when in fact no one knows for certain what their destiny is.
The sooner the really good, sane and morally upright Christians take on these charlatans called prosperity Gospel preachers, the better for the whole of society.
Ohh, My friend, those scammers are all around here in Brazil. They promise you $$$ if you give $$$ to GOD. As if GOD would need any $$$. Cheaters and charlatans, that is all what they are.
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