Silver and Gold

A well-known gospel song says, "Silver and gold, silver and gold, I'd rather have Jesus than silver and gold." It is a beautiful chorus and people love to sing this song. However, in this time of economic crisis in America, many Christians must now ask themselves the question, "Would I really rather have Jesus than silver and gold? Is Jesus truly more important to me than money and the stuff it can buy?"

Faith and Hope in God

I Peter 1:18-21 says "For you know it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God who raised him from the dead and glorified him and so your faith and hope are in God."

Prosperity Christianity VS. the Bible
If Christians were asked what they would rather have, most would say Jesus. It seems like a no-brainer if one considers his or herself to be a follower of Christ. However, put some of the same Christians in an economic crunch, and one might see that the answer they are ultimately living is quite the opposite.
When times are good financially, you can often find Christians gathering together in houses of worship, fellowshipping and praising God. This has been especially true in the current era of prosperity Christianity, in which many have been led to believe that as long as you accept Christ as your Savior, all of your troubles (especially financial troubles) will never burden you again. This type of preaching has people flocking to church in groves when times are good, but when things get tight financially, many people no longer know what to do with Jesus. Isn't Jesus supposed to be a way maker and a problem solver? Aren't Christians supposed to be the lenders and not the borrowers? Prosperity Christianity leaves people with a bad taste in their mouths. It makes them wonder where Jesus is since he is no longer giving them the stuff they want.

The message of prosperity Christianity is "If you have Jesus, everything will be all right. Give the Lord your troubles, and He will make them vanish. You will never have problems again!" It is worthwhile to test this against what the Bible says.

According to Christ, life is not always going to be easy and he said: "In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart, in me, you have overcome the world." Paul also said that he suffered for following Christ. Yet he said that he counted all of the suffering as joy. When Paul was afflicted with a thorn in his side, he prayed on more than one occasion for the Lord to take it away from him. However, the final answer that the Lord gave him was this: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness."

The Promises of Christ

Jesus never promised Christians a life of no problems or issues. He never promised us that we would be rich and illness free if we follow him. He said that in this world, we will have trouble. But in him, we can take heart! Because he died for our sins, we have overcome the world. This message used to be enough for generations of Christians in the past! His grace truly was sufficient for them. Through the floggings, the stoning, the crucifixion, and every type of persecution one could imagine, his grace was sufficient. So the question is, when did the grace of our Lord and Savior stop being enough? When did his death, burial, and resurrection stop being enough?