Ian On The Red Dot

I’ve been thinking a lot about the prosperity gospel since reading Sicarii’s post.  I’m going to share what I understand about it as learned from City Harvest Church and what I believe.  As usual the standard disclaimer - I am what is commonly termed a backslider so please read this with, you know, a whole lot of salt.

Before that, let me share two points that Sicarii has problems with.

1.

Sicarii faults the teaching of ‘the more you sow in terms of giving to the church or to a teacher’s ministry, you’ll be blessed back 40x, 60x or even 100x of what you sowed.’  He feels that such teaching is sending the message that God’s blessings can be bought.

2.

He also gives two examples of testimonies that he has problems with:

A: “I gave more to the building fund last year, this year I had 20-fold increase in my salary!”

B: “I gave my last $500 on me, today I have a net worth of US$2 million!”

Point 1:  The more you sow in terms of giving, the more you will receive.

Firstly, God’s blessings cannot be bought.  Whatever we receive, we receive because God chose to give to us.

To understand Point 1, let me establish somethings I believe in and I think are relevant when discussing Point 1.

1.  God uses us to bring blessings to this world.
2.  God gives us as much as he thinks we can handle.
3.  God does not want us to give more than we can in terms of actual amounts we can afford to give and that which our faith can sustain.

People working full time in church or doing any of God’s ministries have needs (and even wants) to be met.  When we say that God will take care of them, what we mean is that God will use the other brothers and sisters of the church who are not doing full time work (i.e. working and drawing a salary) to provide for them.

When we say that God will take care of the poor, we are not saying that bread will miraculously drop from the sky, but that these poor will be taken care of by the various ministries which are financed by the brothers and sisters who have the means.

I believe that the people who are better conduits will be given more.

Now, when a church leader asks us to give more and we will be blessed, they are not telling us to invest and get returns.  What they are in fact saying is that the giving shows your willingness to be a (better) conduit and God will then give you more than what you have given so that you can have more to not only take care of your own needs but to give more to the church, ministries and other good works.

Now, giving more doesn’t mean you keep increasing the amounts you give.  What it means is giving more than what you were prepared to give such that what you give is aligned to what your heart is telling you to give.

Let me give you a personal example.  When I used to go to City Harvest Church, there were times when I struggled with how much I should give during offering.  Give everything in the wallet?  Give the biggest note?  Give the usual amount?

Then I realized I never really prayed about the amount.  I was trying to make a purely logical decision.

There were times when I gave only $10 and I was at peace with that.  There were times I gave $50 and felt maybe I wasn’t giving as much as I should.

I believe God puts the amount we should give in our heart.

Out of fear, we don’t give that amount.  Fear that we might need the money for other things.  Fear that after giving we might not have enough.

The thing is, we shouldn’t give out of fear.  But neither should we not give out of fear.

When the church leader says that if we give (sow), God will bless us more in return, my understanding is that the church leader is telling us not to be afraid of sowing more than what we were logically prepared to give but give as much as the Holy Spirit has convicted in our hearts to give and we will be blessed.  The closer we are to the amount the Holy Spirit convicted in us, in a way, is a measure of our faith and willingness to give and God honours that.

To be fair, just going by Sicarii’s example of what the church leaders say when it comes to offering does make it seem like they are just selling an investment plan with really good returns but it needs to be understood that the prosperity gospel is learned not just from sermons or during service.  It is the starting point.  A lot of what I understand to be the prosperity gospel was learned from cell group meetings and one-to-one talks with my cell group leader.

Point 2: Emphasizing how much we have received.

I understand that it might seem crass when people go up and give testimonies about how much God has blessed them.  Firstly, the testimonies given in City Harvest Church isn’t just about financial blessings.  If anyone claims it is, they are being dishonest.  I have heard testimonies about how God has mended relationships, healed people and just do all kinds of other goodness.  Now, if you want to argue that the majority of testimonies are about financial blessings, I can’t defend the church because I don’t have proof it is not so.  I wasn’t counting.  I was busy celebrating every testimony.

Now to address Sicarii faulting the testimonies about financial blessings.  I’m not really sure if he is faulting testimonies of financial blessing per se or that the amount used are too large for his liking.  I would presume it is the latter because he himself have shared about financial blessings.

Why do people talk about the 20-fold increase in salary and their net worth of two million?

Pause.

Actually, such ridiculous large amounts aren’t always thrown around.  I would even question if it’s the norm at CHC.  The testimonies I heard about financial blessings are usually more modest.

Unpause.

There might be a reason why the blessings that are shared are rather substantial in nature.  It is to leave no doubt that only God could have provided it.

Say I give a testimony about how I didn’t have enough money to pay for my medical bills and then out of nowhere my company decided to give me an increment.  Now compare that to a testimony where I say I didn’t have enough for my medical bills and out of nowhere, I got job-hunted and was offered 5 times my current salary.

Which is more likely to be from God?  Actually both.

But the thing is, which leaves less doubt in a human’s mind that it could only be from God?

Now, I understand Sicarii’s concern that throwing such substantial financial blessings in the open might only attract people who want to get rich and not focus on the more important things about God.

But sharing these testimonies isn’t about telling me that God can make me rich.  It is in fact sharing with me how God’s power and blessings have no limit.

Now, Sicarii talks about Jesus Christ’s teaching to lay up treasures in heaven instead of on earth.  I agree with that.  We shouldn’t hoard what we have on earth.  We should give as much as we can on earth to help other people.  The prosperity message again does not conflict with Jesus Christ’s teachings because it isn’t just about how much we can receive from God and then hoard it but about how much we can receive from God and then pass it on.

To end, I just want to say that the prosperity gospel doesn’t exist in isolation.  It has to be part of a bigger framework in our relationship with God and our understanding of that relationship.

And that is indeed the place the prosperity gospel exists in CHC (or at least when I was there).

Woke up and saw this post on ping.sg. Firstly, I LOVE what this guy wrote. Really. I did. Now, I know why I turned my back on Christianity (as a religion). And of course what this post highlighted also helped.

Firstly, I used to go to CHC. I haven’t gone to church for some time. I haven’t read the Bible for some time. Haven’t really prayed except when some of the people I love want to say grace before a meal or when a friend is in need. So maybe I’m not the most qualified person like the gentleman who blogs here to talk about CHC and the prosperity message that everyone is so hung up about.

But damn if I’m not going to say something to defend CHC.

I love his kungfu. Really. I do. First, he says ‘… sermon was going to be the filth that is the prosperity gospel again as is the norm at City Harvest Church.’ then he says ‘… pray for Kong Hee to wake up from his delusion, repent, and start preaching God’s Word instead of the prosperity gospel.’ and then to show us what a nice guy he is ‘You are putting words into my mouth — I did not in any manner condemn Kong Hee nor judge him or the church that he leads.’

I’m being a bit hypocritical here. I have written in such a way on this blog before but this guy is the master.

What is the meaning of condemn? What is the meaning of repent? If you tell a guy he needs to repent haven’t you already judged him.

Jedi mind tricks. The force is strong in this one.

But how does this have anything to do with defending CHC. Nothing. I was digressing and I apologize.

City Harvest Church does place a strong emphasis on the prosperity message. Is it the only message? No. It isn’t. Is it the message that appears at every sermon? Well, I haven’t done a statistical analysis on the notes I have taken during the time I was a member, but I would be able to agree that it is a message that is kinda always mentioned.

Is that a bad thing?

No really. Is it a bad thing?

There are many ways to say the same thing. The first way is this.

You are a sinner. Of no fault of yours, you were born a sinner and you are condemned to this bloody terrible place called Hell. And since you are a Singaporean used to aircon, you are screwed. Cos Hell is hot. HOT. And if you have blabber problems, whahaha, you are really screwed, cos hell is condemnation with no relief. NO RELIEF. Get it? But don’t worry, cos if you repent and accept Jesus Christ as your savior, you will be saved. You won’t go to hell. You get to go to heaven! Don’t you want heaven? You can get it. But remember only JC can give it to you. Like the brother here said, work towards your salvation with ‘fear and trembling’.

Pause. You do realized that being a Christian just because I don’t really want to go to hell and I fear some big boy in the sky is almost like being a Christian just because I want to be rich.

Same Difference. Both reasons cheapens Christianity and any sort of relationship one could have with God, Jesus and The Holy Spirit.

There is the other way to say it.

Yup, let’s ignore for a moment this whole inconvenient notion that somehow we are all born sinners. Look at your life now. Are you happy with it? Don’t you wish that there was more meaning to your life. More purpose. Don’t you wish to be able to afford the cost in taking care of your elderly parents. Want to give the best to your children? Want to live life with greater fulfillment and satisfaction instead of instant gratification. Want to travel and see the world? (honestly, nothing wrong with wanting to do that. It isn’t crass or materialistic. If God really created such a beautiful world, I think he would perfectly understand the desire in us to see it) Christianity can give that to you. And so much more. God created us so that we would be able to experience life together with him (or her), share in its joys of exploring, discovery and creating, but things kinda got fucked along the way, but God is here to help us make everything right again. Do you want his help? Jesus came so that we can have life abundantly.

I know some Christians argue that the verse is talking about eternal life. But really, God just wants us to suffer in this one until we die and go to heaven and then we start enjoying from then on? I thought we were born again in this world, when we repent and accept our salvation. Babies yes. But isn’t the born again life starting here? Sure, we need to grow. Sure, we would need to suffer and be tested. But shouldn’t the good life start here. How small your God is if it can only happen when you die and go to heaven. But of course, I agree that the good life can start without being rich in all that is called materialism. But lusting after material wealth isn’t the same as wanting to be prosperous.

The great mistake when commenting on the prosperity message is assuming that it is always about having enough for your car, condo, country club blah blah blah. What arrogance! Do you actually believe when we want more, we all want ‘your more’. Some people just want to be able to study. To have that next meal. To take care of the health costs of their sick relatives. To indulge a bit. To eat nice chocolate. To give that present to a friend they really love.

The prosperity message is preached because there is an understanding that some people can’t even meet certain material needs or enjoy what a lot of us take for granted. Yes, there is nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy more. Hell, there is nothing wrong with wanting to feed a guy before telling him how he can’t live on bread alone.

But you see, no one, no one who condemns City Harvest Church and its prosperity message ever ever talks about the next thing. Yes. The next thing. You can do two things when you are rich (actually a lot of things, but for argument’s sake, I’m simplifying).

1. You can hoard it.

2. You can share it.

Sorry to disappoint you all, but CHC doesn’t advocate 1. In fact, they advocate number 2 to a fault. The leaders in the church (or at least those I know) always talk about having more so that we can be a conduit on this earth to give to others.

It is through us that we can bless others.

The prosperity message is a one-two, left-hand jab, right-hand upper cut move.

Another thing. The blogger talks about how Pastor Kong took the verses out of context. I’m no expert in bible translation, but I think the King James Version came before the English Standard Version.

Which doesn’t really mean a thing.

I just wanted to point out that we can argue all we want about what a verse means when one translation uses a different word compared to another translation and it would be pointless. At least to me. Because I mean, aren’t there other things to consider. Like the source. And how the actual word used in the source was rich in meanings and it was up to the translator’s interpretation that we get the word in the translated version.

So to imply someone is abusing a verse just because the other translated version uses a different word is a bit disingenuous.

Or course, that doesn’t mean the blogger’s argument that the verse was taken out of context is invalid.

Finally about the sermons being no different from self-improvement talks. That is false. Of course, things might have changed now and what he said has validity. Anyway, I couldn’t find the mentioned sermon on the site, so I’ll just use what I know from the past to say this.

Setting goals, achieving them, realizing our best in finances, marriage, relationships and the works is very much relevant to our Christian walk. Our Christian walk is not just about our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is important of course, if not the most important thing. It isn’t just the only thing.

Simple example albeit not a perfect analogy.

Say I love my gf. A lot. But our relationship would be a little stale don’t you think if its spent just walking on the beach, the two of us, just talking about our relationship.

But what if I bring her into other aspects of my life which is also important. Like my career. She plays a part because I try to let her understand the decisions I make. I consult her for the decisions I’m going to make. But I don’t always run back to her. She doesn’t need to be part of every single decision I make. Sometimes, I can be decisive and make some on my own. After all, I got the brains, the training, the reasoning, the knowledge and hopefully the wisdom to do so.

To say our Christian walk is one and not the other is to bring a false dichotomy. Our Christian walk is everything about our life. And how God can be part of it. But God being part of it doesn’t mean every single thing is deferred to God.

A terrible example to use. After the tsunami, a friend asked me why God didn’t do something. Why didn’t he intervene?

And I asked, why should God do anything?

God made us right? He gave us intelligence. He gave us will. He gave us understanding. He gave us the ability to make choices.

The tsunami’s damage could have been mitigated if some places had better warning systems. But no investment was made. Humans made the choice to do nothing about something they had the power to do.

So, how is a church leader teaching us practical steps in self-improvement bringing God into our lives and how is that improving our Christian walk?

Well, in one way, we are learning from a person anointed by Christ. I think there is some power in that.

Secondly, when we live our life well, it is a testament to God, especially when we acknowledge that God had a part to play. But to live it well, we need to know how. Right?

Thirdly, and I’m using what I learned about marriage from CHC here, you got to be able to do both the practical and the spiritual. From what I know, the leaders from CHC always say that in the end, God has to come into the picture.

For example, marriage is not between two people but three. Me, my spouse and God. We were taught how to bring God into the marriage. However, we were also taught practical steps in making the marriage work.

Like:

1. If I stay back after work, I will always inform my wife my whereabouts.

2. Even if there are people in the office, and I claim I’m not attracted to the female colleague, I work where the door is open, the blinds are up.

3. If I have to travel, I bring a male companion instead of a female one. If a female one needs to come, I try to bring three people along and arrange such that different sexes do not share room.

Practical steps. Why does a church need to teach this?

Because it is about accountability. And how accountability has to be part of our life. If we can’t be accountable in stuff like this, how can we be accountable to God.

Take what happens when you get into the car. You believe that God will protect you. You even prayed. But you still wear a seatbelt. It is protection. Practical protection.

You need both. To do the practical stuff and the spiritual stuff. Both has a part.

So, our relationship with God is the most important thing. And we got to work on it. But to work solely on it is a little off. We work on other aspects of our lives and always make sure that God is a part of it. So while, we may not be spending most of our time directly working on the relationship with God, by bringing him into every aspect of our lives, we are indirectly strengthening it.

Like, instead of just talking to my gf about our relationship and how it can be better and always just being only with her, both of us take up a hobby together with our friends. We both learn a skill and while not exactly working on the relationship directly, the relationship grows.

To end, listen to the above mentioned blogger’s advice.

“I shall also pray that you shall learn to discern and seek to study the Bible and learn what God teaches about the Christian life, instead of listening to the apostasy many teachers now falsely teach.”

Remember though, teachers come in all forms, and the pulpit isn’t just in a church.

A blog can be a pulpit too.