God Loves You and Wants You to Be Rich
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The earning of more and more money, combined with the strict avoidance of all spontaneous enjoyment of life, … is thought of so purely as an end in itself. (15)
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Labor must, on the contrary, be performed as if it were an absolute end in itself, a calling. But such an attitude is by no means a product of nature. It cannot be evoked by low wages or high ones alone, but can only be the product of a long and arduous process of education. (22)
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Wealth is thus bad ethically only in so far as it is a temptation to idleness and sinful enjoyment of life, and its acquisition is bad only when it is with the purpose of later living merrily and without care. (94)
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To wish to be poor (is)… the same as wishing to be unhealthy. (94)
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The above statements were not penned by a sucessful CEO or self help guru. These were published in Germany in 1905 by Max Weber in the landmark sociology text, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. This groundbreaking sociology text, translated into English in 1930, drew a connection between the theology of the Protestant reformers, especially Calvin, and the development of capitalism in the West.
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Weber does a thorough job of examining the aspects of early Protestant theology, especially the doctrines of election, assurance of salvation, and the glorification of God. Each of these doctrines end up forming a symbiotic relationship with seeds of capitalism that grew in Europe and North America.
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St. Paul’s “He who will not work shall not eat” holds unconditionally for everyone. Unwillingness to work is symptomatic of the lack of grace. (92)
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Calvinists who placed a high priority on election, but who did not believe that you could be positive that you were elect, saw capitalistic success as a clue that God was content with you as one of the predestined elect. The above statement seems to tie human works to God’s grace. In the Calvinist view, good works never save anyone, but works are viewed as possible evidence of the redeemed.
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The world exists to serve the glorification of God and for that purpose alone. The elected Christian is in the world only to increase this glory of God by fulfilling His commandments to the best of his ability. (54)
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This statement by Weber highlights the Protestant conviction that the entirety of Christian theology and practice can be boiled down to one question… “does this glorify God?” Popular author John Piper is a contemporary proponent of this conviction.
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Man is only a trustee of the goods which “have come to him through God’s grace. He must, like the servant in the parable, give an account of every penny entrusted to him, and it is at least hazardous to spend any of it for a purpose which does not serve the glory of God but only one’s own enjoyment. (100)
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In this statement from the book, you can identify the connection between capitalism and piety. The Puritans and modern Christian groups whose identity is to flee “worldliness” are examples of this type of doctrine.
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I am still processing The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. My initial thoughts are to examine these doctrines of the reformers in the light of modern prosperity theologians. I can see how those who see prosperity as a sign of God’s blessings could be in agreement with some of the early protestant teachings identified in this book.
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Having said that, the aesthetic attitude displayed by some of the early protestant groups do seem alien when looking at some of the prosperity theology proponents who live lives of total extravagance.
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Weber, Max. The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury Pub. Co., 1996.
About the Author
Stu Cocanougher
9 responses to “God Loves You and Wants You to Be Rich”
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Yes Stu, it is confusing looking at past protestant beliefs and seeing the extravagance of people today. The new jet article is startling! Is that for real?!? Wow. I am at a loss for words with that one. Thanks for enlightening me.
Stu, good analysis of Weber’s examination of the reasons for capitalism (as he saw it in 1904-5). After reading the book, I could see his point.
Your cite of the Creflo article points up in one picture worth at least a thousand words how far some Christians have taken the idea of wealth being a blessing from God.
I guess my question after reading the book was, “Why did it happen?” What happened to people’s hearts, minds, or whatever to cause them to forget all of the principles you listed above? How can we get that back, or can we?
I really enjoy the way you lay out your posts. Thank you.
By the way, the got his plane…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-siebold/the-biggest-scam-of-all-p_b_7521170.html
Stu yes the love of money is the root of evil and yes the money we earn we are to be good stewards over it. There is an inherent danger when greed and or self serving agendas are clothed in “blessings” or “necessities to do God’s will”. This is just plain Fraud!
I think the real question is: how do we hold those in authority i.e. pastors, etc. accountable when they are pushing dangerous agendas and calling it the Gospel?
As for Creflo he like many others ,Paula White, Paul and Jan Crouch, Joel Osteen and the list continues, who preached or continue to preach a “Prosperity Gospel” . In doing so, they obtain wealth because people buy into it. They see them “blessed” so they assume that these preachers know what they are talking about. It is sad and heartbreaking. I do believe that God does desire to bless us abundantly but to say that begins and ends with money and material gain I completely disagree with!!!
“I can see how those who see prosperity as a sign of God’s blessings could be in agreement with some of the early protestant teachings identified in this book. Having said that, the aesthetic (ascetic) attitude displayed by some of the early protestant groups do seem alien when looking at some of the prosperity theology proponents who live lives of total extravagance.
Yes indeed – they could not be more different! The Protestants worked hard, looked to grow wealth and reinvest profits, while maintaining a simple and frugal lifestyle – which is miles away from the modern proponents of the prosperity gospel with their bling and private jets!
Stu,
I like how you injected various comments from others into your post. “Wealth is thus bad ethically only in so far as it is a temptation to idleness and sinful enjoyment of life, and its acquisition is bad only when it is with the purpose of later living merrily and without care. (94)”
It amazes me how people get marvel on how business owners, billionaires, who obtain private jets (via Trump and many others) to expand business. Business cut the salaries of their workers, increase the cost of their products to receive these great assets. But let a Pastor obtain one, then its a sin. Asking members to donate so that he and the ministry can expand their service.
I’m not a soldier of Creflo but I always find how we as Christians say it’s okay for the world to do it but not a Pastor. They don’t look to see what good or bad works the pastor and their ministries have done. But it’s never enough.
The scripture does say to honor them… just saying.
Stu, Good post….. It seems to me that whether it is the Puritans or the Prosperity Gospel preachers it seems to me that the problem is that they tend to move the focus from where it belongs (God) to where it doesn’t (us)….. The Puritans and some other early Calvinists wanted assurance of their election and were unable to heed Calvin’s advice to simply trust in God, so they looked to what they had or earned as a sign…… And again, with the prosperity gospel preachers, the focus is on the wrong place – thinking the gifts and blessing we are given in this life are for us, when those things are not properly understood as rewards – but as blessings that we are to hold with an open hand so that we may share with others around us.
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