Prophetic + Prosperity =...

1 Timothy 6:10 "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."

"...love of money" = philargyria (Greek): avarice, avaricec.1300, from O.Fr. avarice (12c.), from L. avaritia "greed," from avarus "greedy," adj. form of avere "crave, long for." noun insatiable greed for riches; inordinate, miserly desire to gain and hoard wealth.

"During the Gilded Age of the late 19th century, Walter Rauschenbusch, a Baptist minister, inspired others to fight against the economic inequality of the time with the “Social Gospel.” Social Gospel ministers helped inspire President Theodore Roosevelt to break up business monopolies and abolish child labor, historians say.

"During the Great Depression, Father John A. Ryan built such a national following condemning the excess of capitalism that he was invited to deliver prayers at a presidential inauguration.

"The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spent the last three years of his life focusing on poverty. When he was assassinated in 1968, he was on the cusp of leading a nonviolent, interracial army of poor people into the nation’s capital to demand a fairer distribution of wealth."

These ministers who took on the big economic issues of the day were inspired by the example of Jesus, who angered the powerful by condemning the economic exploitation of the poor, religious scholars say. His teachings are seen throughout the New Testament in parables such as “The Rich Man and Lazarus.” From CNN's Belief Blog.

Jesus himself said: "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house." (Mark 6:4).

According to Judaism 101, "A prophet is basically a spokesman for G-d, a person chosen by G-d to speak to people on G-d's behalf and convey a message or teaching. Prophets were role models of holiness, scholarship and closeness to G-d. They set the standards for the entire community." (from the link, Jews apparently avoid writing the Name of God as Christians would to avoid the written name later being defaced). Women fulfilled this role as well!

Prophets are known for speaking "truth to power."Samuel prophesied to Saul when he used a medium after his death to speak with him; Nathan did to King David about his sin with Bathsheba; John the Baptist personified himself as Isaiah the, "voice crying in the wilderness"; Jesus sent the money changers out of the temple, their main interest profit, not worship.

In America, you will have the development of both archetypes of ministry models. I've often said prosperity is not a tool of the elite: it is what happens when you systemically don't allow it for the masses, and hoard it for the few.

I title this blog post as an equation. The conclusion I leave blank. I think it time we speak truth to power, while teaching our flocks not only to tithe, but how to manage the resources God has given us.

If you are giving your 10%; you're thinking of God first. That puts you into the mindset of thinking of others. In order to give your 10%, you "have to know what the other 90% is doing!" (Pastor Valerie). "There is money in the earth; no one has blown it up or burnt it up." (Bishop Hilliard) That is the result of speaking truth to power and turning away from men and institutions as gods...to the One that Sustains!