Health and Wealth

I must admit that I found this article on a friend's blog. So, at the risk of being completely unoriginal, I'm posting it anyway because I think some of you would have an interest in this.

It's from TIME Magazine.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/10/time.cover.tm/index.html

A few thoughts:

We've been talking a lot about hymns in RUF lately--things like why we sing them and what value they hold. I can't help but wonder, if only the pastors in this article, who have sold great numbers of books and have huge churches, would preach a truly "rich" (in the sense of profound content) message, things would be so different. For starters, they probably wouldn't sell tons of books and have such huge followings in our society. That is sad (in a way); however, they would be communicating a real message, the gospel message of being poor and yet rich, of being a pauper yet being credited a prince, and the profound truth of failing miserably and yet being favored as one who overcame.

The implications of a true gospel, a God-glorifying gospel could change the world. The message of health and wealth will change nothing but the number of people who are willing to suffer in the Christian life (by reducing it). We need a renewed sense of the depth of the gospel, and, while not the only way, hymns meet us where we are. They challenge us to truly believe Christ, to see Christ as more beautiful (which they actually help us to do!), and to understand the Christian life as not about riches and blessing, but about Christ (in whom we have more riches and blessing than we could ever dream of).

Something that has always saddened me, and which is touched upon in this article, is the lack of racial diversity in the average, evangelical church as compared with these prosperity-centered churches. I really believe that, as Christians, we must be about uniting people of different races. We must improve upon this aspect of American churchlife, and the gospel is the very thing that compels us (and qualifies us!) to do this. We must be about redeeming the effects of the fall. The implications of the gospel extend to the great reversal of the tower of babel, uniting people of different cultures and languages under one head, Christ.

I'm not sure enough people read this to make this happen, but I would love to get a conversation started if you would care to comment.