Many people have heard of the prosperity gospel—a harmful and false instructing that maintains God gives materials prosperity for many who have religion. A real signal of real religion, prosperity lecturers falsely declare, is well being and wealth. This grievous instructing is wreaking havoc all over the world, particularly the place I reside in South Africa. Fortunately, devoted Bible lecturers and wonderful organizations like The Gospel Coalition Africa have opposed this false instructing.
I do marvel, nevertheless, if there’s a barely extra delicate emotion-focused model of this distorted instructing. Whereas many evangelicals would simply denounce the health-and-wealth prosperity gospel, I believe there could be much less readability round what I’ll describe because the “emotional prosperity gospel.”
What Is the Emotional Prosperity Gospel?
Right here’s how we may summarize the emotional prosperity gospel: real religion in Christ removes all adverse feelings. Subsequently, the presence of adverse feelings—worry, anxiousness, anger, or disappointment—reveals a scarcity of religion. At first look, many evangelicals sense the Bible helps this view. Contemplate a well known verse that, when learn with out the bigger biblical context in view, appears to assist this:
“You retain him in good peace whose thoughts is stayed on you, as a result of he trusts in you” (Isa. 26:3).
Excellent peace, it appears, for many who belief in God.
Doesn’t Religion Produce Constructive Feelings?
So, how ought to we predict this by means of? Absolutely, a deep religion in God results in constructive feelings? There appear to be a number of verses we may cite to point out this. Contemplate, for instance:
- “Don’t be concerned about something, however in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made identified to God” (Phil. 4:6).
- “The fruit of the Spirit is love, pleasure, peace…” (Gal. 5:22).
- “Now might the Lord of peace himself provide you with peace always in each means” (2 Thess. 3:16).
There may be clearly a hyperlink between our religion and our feelings. However it’s all too simple for this hyperlink to be misunderstood.
I’m certain that, like me, you possibly can relate to the expertise of making an attempt to take care of a “adverse” emotion. If we’re the one scuffling with adverse feelings, we’d decrease it—fake that it’s not likely there, shove it down, or distract ourselves with one thing else. If our buddy (or partner or baby) is scuffling with adverse feelings, we’d attempt to “clear up it” by encouraging them to belief in God or belief in God extra. It looks as if we simply don’t fairly know what to do with these adverse feelings. Why can we expertise them so typically? Are they in our lives merely due to our failure to belief God? Will deeper religion all the time take away adverse feelings?
Discover Your Unfavorable Feelings
What we want is a extra nuanced method to understanding feelings. Fortunately, a superb useful resource exists that guides us in how to do that. In Alasdair Groves and Winston Smith’s wonderful e book Untangling Feelings, we get a wealthy and sensible clarification of the way to assume by means of feelings biblically. They level out one thing that Christians intuitively perceive: our feelings point out exercise inside our hearts. And in a damaged world stuffed with sin and struggling, our adverse feelings remind us that issues usually are not the best way they’re presupposed to be. In that essential sense, adverse feelings assist tether us to actuality. Our adverse feelings remind us that issues are mistaken. And by connecting adverse feelings to particular eventualities, we will get extra particular about what precisely goes mistaken—both in our hearts or circumstances.
Have interaction Your Unfavorable Feelings with the Lord
I’ll finish this publish with one sensible piece of recommendation Groves and Smith give us relating to understanding and fascinating with adverse feelings: discern what your adverse feelings are “saying” and interact them with the Lord.[1]
In different phrases, as an alternative of making an attempt to “clear up the issue” of adverse feelings, take heed to them and hint their connections to beliefs, wishes, and circumstances. Then discuss to the Lord about that. If we will be taught to discover our feelings—even our adverse ones—then we’ll begin to get a greater understanding of what’s truly occurring in our hearts. And by speaking to the Lord in prayer, we’re taking our misery to the One who cares for us and can assist us.
So watch out for the emotional prosperity gospel. It would both provide you with a false guilt journey or encourage you to squash and decrease what ought to be explored and prayed by means of.
How significantly better to observe the counsel of Psalm 62:8, “Belief in him always, you individuals; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”
Questions for Reflection
- Have you ever ever believed in a model of the emotional prosperity gospel? Why do you assume you probably did?
- Why can adverse feelings truly be actually essential and useful?
- What wouldn’t it seem like so that you can discover and pray by means of your adverse feelings in the present day?
[1] Alasdair Groves and Winston Smith, Untangling Feelings, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019).
