A recent article from the Christian Post contains an interview with Joel Osteen in which he shuns the “Prosperity Gospel” label. Osteen says:
I don’t like to talk against anybody. When we grew up with Oral Roberts it was seed faith, and I understand the principle. I get grouped into the prosperity gospel and I never think it’s fair, but it’s just what it is. I think prosperity, and I’ve said it 1,000 times, it’s being healthy, it’s having great children, it’s having peace of mind. Money is part of it; and yes, I believe God wants us to excel.
[The Night of Hope event] costs $1.5 million, so we’ve got to have people who believe in it and people that can give. But I don’t believe in pressuring people for money. At America’s Night of Hope, I’m going to take a donation for World Vision, for other people. But on the flip side, I believe God wants us to excel and be blessed so we can be a bigger blessing to others. I feel very rewarded. I wrote a book and sold millions of copies; and Victoria and I were able to help more people than we ever dreamed of. But when I hear the term prosperity gospel, I think people are sometimes saying, “well, he’s just asking for money.” (Source)
In his article Joel Osteen and the Prosperity Gospel, Gary Gilley critically examines Osteen’s false teaching. Gilley writes:
Osteen’s attraction is found in what he is offering which is nothing less than a life of good health, abundance, wealth, prosperity and success, “If you develop an image of victory, success, health, abundance, joy, peace, and happiness, nothing on earth will be able to hold those things from you” (p. 5).[7] Since these are the things most people treasure and, since Jesus informed us that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21), it is predictable that the seductive promise of a map leading to these treasures would find many adherents. And it certainly does. But what specifically is being offered?
Health
If we follow the teachings of Osteen we can expect good health. His mother for example was diagnosed with terminal cancer twenty years ago, but because she confessed good health she is cancer free today (pp. 126-127). As a matter of fact, one of the highlights of the “A Night of Hope” events is the testimony by Osteen’s mother concerning her physical healing – implying of course, that those in the audience can also be healed if they will but do what Joel suggests.
Abundance
Osteen, without qualification, declares that all of us are destined for greatness of every kind: “You were born to win; you were born for greatness, you were created to be a champion in life” (p. 35), and abundance, “He wants you to live in abundance. He wants to give you the desires of your heart…God is turning things around in your favor” (p. 78). As a matter of fact, apparently irrespective of our relationship with God, “Before we were ever formed, He programmed us to live abundant lives, to be happy, healthy, and whole. But when our thinking becomes contaminated it is no longer in line with God’s Word” (p. 114).
Two things should be noted at this juncture. First, the Scriptures teach no such thing. While eternal life with the Lord is the ultimate destiny of the redeemed, judgment and then the lake of fire is the ultimate destiny of the lost (2 Thess 1:9; Rev 20:14-15). In the meanwhile, in this life the rain falls on the just and the unjust, and Christians may suffer as many trials as unbelievers, perhaps more (Rom 5:3-5; James 1:2-4; 2 Cor 4:8-12, 11:23-29; Heb 11:35-40). It is true that Psalm 37:4 promises, “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart,” but upon a little reflection it will be seen that one who delights himself in the Lord desires God, not mere material blessings, good parking spots, success in business and a nice wardrobe. Osteen’s program trivializes the abundant life Jesus came to give His followers (John 10:10).
Secondly, when the prosperity teachers use the phrase “God’s Word,” the reader must carefully discern what is meant. Often, as in this case, “God’s Word” is not a reference to the Bible but to words spoken, supposedly by God, extrabiblically through the Word of Faith adherents. Osteen then is not accusing people of being out of step with the Scriptures, but being out of step with the teachings of men such as himself. This is nothing less than a claim that God has revealed His Word apart from Scripture and through prosperity leaders.
Wealth
“God wants to increase you financially, by giving you promotions, fresh ideas and creativity” (p. 5), or so Osteen promises. How does he know this since in biblical times promotions were not common practice, fresh ideas and creativity did not carry the value they do today and wealth was not necessarily seen as a sign of God’s pleasure? Someone might counter that David and Solomon were wealthy, but this was not the case for Jeremiah and Habakkuk, both godly men who lost everything. Job flourished for a time, lost it all, and then gained it back. Did one of Job’s “comforters” clue him in on prosperity philosophy? Was that the turning point? Hardly. It was when Job repented of his arrogance that God restored his former affluence, and God was under no obligation to do that. The scriptural principle is that the Lord is sovereignly at work in our lives. He can choose to bless us with riches, or He can choose to bless us by taking our riches away.
So where does Osteen come up with the idea that “God wants to increase us financially?” His basis is in his very limited and selective experience. He tells us, for example, that when his father was “willing to go beyond the barriers of the past [by applying the principles found in this book], he broke that curse of poverty in our family. Now, my siblings and I, and our children, grandchildren, even great-grandchildren, are all going to experience more of the goodness of God because of what one man did” (p. 25). Of course, millions of examples throughout the world and throughout history could be given of godly people living in poverty, and the children of the wealthy wasting their inheritance and privileges, but Osteen seems to conveniently ignore such examples. Instead he is convinced “God wants to give you your own house” (p. 35). The U.S. government and the banking system seemed to agree with Osteen until the recent economic crash. Now they’re taking away many of those houses. But this does not deter Osteen; he is persuaded that we will prosper.
Prosperity
Prosperity is more than health and wealth; it includes all the good things life can give. Apparently God is working extra hard to make life easy for us. Osteen promises, “It’s going to happen… Suddenly, your situation will change for the better…He will bring your dreams to pass” (pp. 196-198). Such statements leave no room for the cancer patient who does not get better, the factory worker who is laid off and never again finds a comparable job, the athlete who has a career-ending injury, or all those losers at the “American Idol” auditions (we can be thankful for this one at least). Such people would have reason to question Osteen’s pronouncement that, “God didn’t make you to be average. God created you to excel” (p. 82). Just two minutes of reflection would unveil the fallacy of this statement. By definition everyone cannot be above average – somebody has to be in the middle of the pack, and someone has to bring up the rear. This kind of idea sounds like the familiar grade inflation going on in many of our schools and universities today. If ninety percent of students all make an “A” average (which is not uncommon anymore) that does not mean that they are smarter than past students, it just means that the evaluation system has been changed so that more students (and potential employers) think they are successful. In addition, did not Paul tell us that of the ones God calls there are “not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise…” (1 Cor 1:27)? Our Lord seems to have standards and values that are out of alignment with Osteen’s.
Still Osteen insists, “You will often receive preferential treatment simply because your Father is the King of kings, and His glory and honor spill over onto you” (p. 40). Osteen prays, “Father, I thank you that I have Your favor” (p. 41). By God’s favor Osteen has in mind such earth shaking issues as finding the perfect parking spot in a crowded lot (pp. 41-42). Why a perfectly healthy middle-aged man would pray for the premier parking spot, knowing of course that someone with greater physical needs will be denied such a spot, is never explained. Osteen admits God sometimes refuses to answer his parking prayer, but this “doesn’t mean that I am going to quit believing in the favor of God” (p. 43). Osteen can’t lose. If he finds the best spot in the lot he has God’s favor; if he circles for 15 minutes and fails in this all-important task, it is not going to derail his theology.
Success
“God wants you to go further than your parents” (p. 8). This statement is made without a speck of biblical evidence. On the contrary it was a rarity in Scripture to find a child who exceeded a godly or successful parent. Further, the same is often true in our own experience – some children go further than their parents, others do not. Osteen is making an unsupportable statement.
But not to be deterred we are told, “God wants you to live an overcoming life of victory. He doesn’t want you to barely get by. He’s called El Shaddai, ‘the God of more than enough’” (p. 33, emphasis his). On the contrary: El Shaddai is a title used for our Lord in the Old Testament which is often translated “God Almighty.” It speaks of the all sufficiency of God, and is a special title of reverence. Osteen has invented his own meaning and in the process turned God into our personal sugar daddy, ready to hand out the goodies to any who think they have discovered the secret to His heart.
Good self-image
“God wants us to have healthy, positive self-images, to see ourselves as priceless treasures. He wants us to feel good about ourselves… God sees you as a champion… He regards you as a strong, courageous, successful, overcoming person” (p. 57-58). Really? From what source does Osteen draw his view of self-image? Certainly not Scripture which never mentions such a thing. Rather than chase after good self-images Paul warns us “not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment” (Rom 12:3). But instead of taking seriously the instruction of Scripture, Osteen is happy to chase after the fads found in pop-psychology. He goes on, “When you are tempted to get discouraged, remind yourself that according to God’s Word, your future is getting brighter; you are on your way to a new level of glory” (p. 67). Eternally this is a true statement for the child of God, but to promise such will be the case in this life is pure deception. And since Osteen makes no distinction between the redeemed and the unregenerate in his book, he is offering a false and damning hope to most of his audience, those who do not know Christ as their Savior.
