Why the spirit of Mammon and the Prosperity "gospel" is Far More Dangerous and Perverse than You think
But
there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be
false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies,
even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift
destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
(2 Peter 2:1-3)
There are many prosperity teachers who have arisen today. They are all around us and are destroying many, leading them to Hell. Many genuine Church teachers, preachers and pastors, while acknowledging their wickedness, simply dismiss them and do nothing to counter them. However, this is not a sufficient or adequate response. For these false teachers who preach the prosperity "gospel", in either its more obvious or subtle form, are extremely dangerous. They are far more dangerous than we often think of them as.
Much of the true genuine Church today is far too preoccupied with things it should spend no where near as much attention as it does. It spends much of its time talking about marriage, family, and the spirit of Jezebel, but hardly any time talking about mammon, riches, prosperity and wealth. It has absolutely no idea what mammon is, let alone how dangerous the prosperity "gospel" is.
The heart of the prosperity "gospel" is that one is only blessed by God if one has riches, and every other so-called earthly "blessing" like a spouse and children. The more one has, the more blessed one is. The less one has, the less blessed one is. This teaching is fundamentally wrong because no where in the Scripture does it ever say that earthly riches or security are a sign of blessing. Yet, this sound so convincing, because that is exactly what the flesh believes, that one is more 'blessed', that is, more esteemed, because one has more. The flesh seeks to convince people that they are more blessed when they have more earthly things, and less blessed when they have less.
Such a teaching is of the spirit of mammon, which the flesh loves. The flesh takes pride in thinking that what it has belongs to oneself and is the result of one's own hands. So, that is why it is so easily deceived, in being totally convinced into believing that the more one has, the more respect or esteem one 'deserves', because it is the work on one's own hands. The less one has, or others have, it is because such a person fails to work hard, and deserves less. That is exactly what makes the spirit of mammon so deceptive, even being more deceptive than the spirit of Jezebel.
Contrary to what most have bee taught, the spirit of mammon is far more dangerous than the spirit of Jezebel. He is extremely deceptive, and entices people to oppress themselves by slaving for him, all while convincing them to think that they are simply 'working hard' or 'seeking their legitimate needs'. He not only twists one's seeking needs into greed, but confounds the two together, by convincing people that they need to work for mammon, rather than faithfully work for God, who is the one who provides. As a result that, mammon becomes the one who provides, rather than God.
While it is true that the spirit of Jezebel may drive a man in a marriage to be literally worked to death for more money, who is tempting the woman into such crass materialism?
The spirit of mammon. Where ever the spirit of Jezebel is, there is also the spirit of mammon. The reason why the man has lost his headship in the family is because he has become too busy chasing mammon. He has sought to earn money out of love for mammon, rather than to work for the purpose of glorifying and serving God, and allow God to provide for him and his family. He makes mammon his god, hating God, and so, as result has neglected his duty as the head of household (Ephesians 5:23). He, on his own part, becomes an evil Ahab, and has no right to simply blame the wife for his own love of mammon, as many are trying to do.
The spirit of mammon appeals to our flesh, to seduce people to seek what they want, convincing them to work hard for what they want, only to reveal to them that what the riches they were seeking are nothing. One may have had the riches in one's hands, but they are nothing, as they are like a bird with wings: Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven (Proverbs 23:5)
False teachers of the prosperity "gospel" who teach people that they are to seek riches to be blessed by God are extremely dangerous. They teach that a person is not pleasing to God if he has no money to give to God, and are constantly psychologically manipulating people to give money, in the form of tithes. This teaching purports that worshiping is done by giving money, using the arms of the flesh, as opposed to worshiping in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24). It also implies that a person's righteousness, and hence, blessedness is determined by how much of the earthly temporal goods one has.
By subtly teaching that one only pleases God by being rich, such teaching implies that not only is one less favoured by having less, but that one sinned because of that. One must therefore pursue riches to be give to God or be pleasing to God. Therein lies the danger, as the Scriptures make it clear that those who seek to be rich, that is, pursue riches, will drown themselves in many sorrows, and that these sorrows lead to destruction:
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
(1 Timothy 6:9-11)
Yet, people under this teaching are driven to pursue riches, not because they necessarily want to seek riches on their own part, but because of the erroneous teaching of the prosperity "gospel" that they must pursue riches to be obedient or pleasing to God. Pursing riches becomes an 'act of obedience' to God under this prosperity "gospel" teaching. This has led many to drown in sorrows, leading to their destruction, owing to such deception.
That is just how dangerous the spirit of mammon is. Through the prosperity "gospel" teaching, he perverts pursuing wealth into not only a desirable thing, but something that one must do to please God or show obedience to God. This is utter perversion and a doctrine from the Pit of Hell itself.
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
(2 Peter 2:1-3)
There are many prosperity teachers who have arisen today. They are all around us and are destroying many, leading them to Hell. Many genuine Church teachers, preachers and pastors, while acknowledging their wickedness, simply dismiss them and do nothing to counter them. However, this is not a sufficient or adequate response. For these false teachers who preach the prosperity "gospel", in either its more obvious or subtle form, are extremely dangerous. They are far more dangerous than we often think of them as.
Much of the true genuine Church today is far too preoccupied with things it should spend no where near as much attention as it does. It spends much of its time talking about marriage, family, and the spirit of Jezebel, but hardly any time talking about mammon, riches, prosperity and wealth. It has absolutely no idea what mammon is, let alone how dangerous the prosperity "gospel" is.
The heart of the prosperity "gospel" is that one is only blessed by God if one has riches, and every other so-called earthly "blessing" like a spouse and children. The more one has, the more blessed one is. The less one has, the less blessed one is. This teaching is fundamentally wrong because no where in the Scripture does it ever say that earthly riches or security are a sign of blessing. Yet, this sound so convincing, because that is exactly what the flesh believes, that one is more 'blessed', that is, more esteemed, because one has more. The flesh seeks to convince people that they are more blessed when they have more earthly things, and less blessed when they have less.
Such a teaching is of the spirit of mammon, which the flesh loves. The flesh takes pride in thinking that what it has belongs to oneself and is the result of one's own hands. So, that is why it is so easily deceived, in being totally convinced into believing that the more one has, the more respect or esteem one 'deserves', because it is the work on one's own hands. The less one has, or others have, it is because such a person fails to work hard, and deserves less. That is exactly what makes the spirit of mammon so deceptive, even being more deceptive than the spirit of Jezebel.
Contrary to what most have bee taught, the spirit of mammon is far more dangerous than the spirit of Jezebel. He is extremely deceptive, and entices people to oppress themselves by slaving for him, all while convincing them to think that they are simply 'working hard' or 'seeking their legitimate needs'. He not only twists one's seeking needs into greed, but confounds the two together, by convincing people that they need to work for mammon, rather than faithfully work for God, who is the one who provides. As a result that, mammon becomes the one who provides, rather than God.
While it is true that the spirit of Jezebel may drive a man in a marriage to be literally worked to death for more money, who is tempting the woman into such crass materialism?
The spirit of mammon. Where ever the spirit of Jezebel is, there is also the spirit of mammon. The reason why the man has lost his headship in the family is because he has become too busy chasing mammon. He has sought to earn money out of love for mammon, rather than to work for the purpose of glorifying and serving God, and allow God to provide for him and his family. He makes mammon his god, hating God, and so, as result has neglected his duty as the head of household (Ephesians 5:23). He, on his own part, becomes an evil Ahab, and has no right to simply blame the wife for his own love of mammon, as many are trying to do.
The spirit of mammon appeals to our flesh, to seduce people to seek what they want, convincing them to work hard for what they want, only to reveal to them that what the riches they were seeking are nothing. One may have had the riches in one's hands, but they are nothing, as they are like a bird with wings: Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven (Proverbs 23:5)
False teachers of the prosperity "gospel" who teach people that they are to seek riches to be blessed by God are extremely dangerous. They teach that a person is not pleasing to God if he has no money to give to God, and are constantly psychologically manipulating people to give money, in the form of tithes. This teaching purports that worshiping is done by giving money, using the arms of the flesh, as opposed to worshiping in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24). It also implies that a person's righteousness, and hence, blessedness is determined by how much of the earthly temporal goods one has.
By subtly teaching that one only pleases God by being rich, such teaching implies that not only is one less favoured by having less, but that one sinned because of that. One must therefore pursue riches to be give to God or be pleasing to God. Therein lies the danger, as the Scriptures make it clear that those who seek to be rich, that is, pursue riches, will drown themselves in many sorrows, and that these sorrows lead to destruction:
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
(1 Timothy 6:9-11)
Yet, people under this teaching are driven to pursue riches, not because they necessarily want to seek riches on their own part, but because of the erroneous teaching of the prosperity "gospel" that they must pursue riches to be obedient or pleasing to God. Pursing riches becomes an 'act of obedience' to God under this prosperity "gospel" teaching. This has led many to drown in sorrows, leading to their destruction, owing to such deception.
That is just how dangerous the spirit of mammon is. Through the prosperity "gospel" teaching, he perverts pursuing wealth into not only a desirable thing, but something that one must do to please God or show obedience to God. This is utter perversion and a doctrine from the Pit of Hell itself.
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