Black Christians and the Myth of Prosperity Preaching
SOURCE: American Thinker – Patricia L. Dickson –
With the in-your-face display of greed and arrogance of the so-called pastors on the reality show Preachers of L.A., I began to wonder: when will black Christians wake up and say enough is enough? Although there are some white pastors of mega-churches who have a net worth of almost triple their congregants as well, I want to focus on the plight of the black saints who sit under the ministry of black pastors (and some white pastors) Sunday after Sunday and continue to live paycheck to paycheck.
After some years of attending mega-churches pastored by both black and white men and their wives, I began to notice a trend. These pastors would always tell their congregation – mostly non-college-educated and barely surviving members – that the way to prosperity is through tithing. Tithing was the only means to prosperity taught by these pastors. In fact, the reason for all that ailed the saints (hard times, sickness, and lack) was non-tithing (i.e., theft of God’s money). Not having a college education during the majority of those years, I felt guilty if I found myself in a situation where I could not tithe on certain Sundays. I would hear the pastors say, use your rent or utility bill money and pay your tithe; God will make sure your bills are paid. I would blame God when my bills went unpaid instead of blaming the pastors (or myself for listening to the them).
After I completed a couple of degrees and began associating with a group of financially intelligent individuals, I started to learn and apply sound financial principles. I then realized that my financial situation had improved for two reasons: more education (resulted in a better job with higher pay and/or promotion on current job) and knowledge of how to manage and invest my income. I also realized that my pastors never mentioned education or investments (other than investing in the kingdom of God) as a means to acquire wealth.
