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(Image courtesy of https://www.churchmilitant.com.) |
Difficulty, pain, suffering, adversity, obstacles, setbacks - choose your favorite term - none of these are natural, just as death is not natural. All difficulty is a result of sin. Thinking that these negative things are a natural part of the created order and neglecting to treat them as a result of God's curse on His creation for sin is a fundamental flaw in "positive confession theology" (otherwise known as "name and claim it" or "health, wealth, and prosperity gospel"). This false gospel angers me more than just about anything else simply because it is not true. (There are some who would argue that the term "false" is a little too strong; I disagree. The reason this is false is because it is not true. Jesus did not die for me to have everything I ever wanted in this life.)
The men I am about to name have a serious worldview crisis: they view this world as the main stage; they talk very little, if ever, about the reality of eternity.
Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland, John Maxwell, Danny Gokey, and Jon Gordon are all men I would consider to be positive confession theologians. They all teach the similar idea that the human potential is limitless; that if we can just tap into our inner-selves with enough positive-thoughts and high-achieving goals we can do anything. Such maxims as "when you believe, the impossible becomes possible" (Jon Gordon) are popular among these men.
The doctrine these leaders promote sounds so good that it is leading millions around the world into darkness. How? Because man is not the center of the universe. God is. Man is not even the center of his
own life! God is. To have our focus so intently on ourselves is to miss the purpose of man's existence entirely. We are not here for ourselves or even for each other; we ultimately exist for God.