Money anxiety and the ministry

I grew up in the midst of the Prosperity Gospel movement, and it’s left its mark, I’m afraid. I believed that God would bless (meaning financially bless) those who served the Almighty. It wasn’t only that money came with service to God, but financial reward also came with God’s favor.

The gospel was like one of those jewelry commercials in early February: love could be quantified by the value of goods received. Like Santa: God gave to those on the good list. Like the myths of capitalism: God rewarded those who work the hardest.

Of course, it didn’t take a long time working in Chicago to understand that people on the Gold Coast didn’t love Jesus more than those in the housing projects. In fact, among those I personally knew, it was quite the opposite.