When one hears of the “Health and Wealth Gospel”, one usually is drawn to the ideology where one’s spirituality is determined by how healthy and wealthy that person may be. Greater “Sainthood” is believed to be directly correlated to one’s health and wealth. The healthier and wealthier a person is, the higher is one’s rung on the ladder of religiosity. The short video clip above is of the greatly esteemed Mr. Spock of the original Star Trek TV series of the 1960’s. As a “Vulcan”, their usual parting gesture is to bestow a cordial goodwill message by saying “Live long and prosper”, in other words, wishing the other party health and wealth. In our blog today, we intend to flip “The Health and Wealth Gospel” out of the religious realm and into the socialistic environment that is ever encroaching upon the FREEDOM and LIBERTY of our Nation’s citizens. We will endeavor to draw the sharp contrast between those who are truly citizens of the Kingdom of God, and those who believe themselves to be in pursuit of the eternal singularity, the merger of man and machine’s Artificial Intelligence, designed to exist far beyond the human lifespan. First, let’s consider how the Bible views the “Health and Wealth Gospel”.
Note that Jesus never healed all he came in contact with. Only those who believed through faith that Jesus could heal them were healed, often in simple obedience to His command. Those even today who have great faith, still suffer the ravages of disease, for the true test of faithfulness lies not in perfect health, but in the pursuit of a Christ-like life. The Great Apostle Paul was never healed by God of his “thorn in the flesh”, as it was left as a reminder of his human frailty and dependence upon God as Paul looked forward to a perfection beyond his mortality (II Corinthians 12:7-9), where Paul claimed his “. . . strength was made perfect in weakness.” Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you . . .” (Matthew 26:11.) Riches were not the Christian’s hope for salvation. Paul knew that true Christianity was not dependent upon social stature, in fact in I Corinthians 7:21-24 Paul, speaking to slaves, remarked “Brethren, let each man remain with God in that condition in which he was called.” The Kingdom of Heaven was never about a change in social structure, but about a change in one’s heart. This was the message that the Roman leadership, and the Sadducees and Pharisees, the religious leadership of the day, never understood. The eternal Kingdom of God was a Spiritual Kingdom, dwelling in the hearts of men and women. Now, let’s look to those who may claim a spiritual heritage, but who in fact practice a life filled with godless pursuits and pleasures, where god to them is held in their belief that personal advancement up the ladder of health and wealth is the determinant factor of their “spirituality”, but what we call “their quest for superiority”.
Many in our society today walk to a drum beat often opposite to those who share a Jewish/Christian heritage. Their sense of morality is warped. The concept of ultimate truth evades them. They cling to sociopathy like static to nylon. For them, there is only one place to reside, that being at the very top of anything, having all the power, all the prestige, in their vain attempt to garnish accolades, often exchanging them only among their ideological peers. For them, “The Health and Wealth Gospel” is achieved when wealth, that which is most coveted, and often un-earned or gained through nefarious schemes, brings with it the preeminent access to all things health related. They alone have access to the best of care, the newest treatments and methodologies. They may tell the poor to eat bugs, while they feast on the finest stakes. They may eschew hours of arduous highway driving opting for private jet travel, often seen as the right of those in power, even if only in their own minds. They believe “The Gospel” is according to them, for they write their own narratives, act in their own convoluted, sometimes even perverted and lured, ways. They contrive and manipulate agendas, policies, and methods to achieve their purposes, caring not for humanity at large, or for obedience to any ultimate authority or truth. For most, they see no life beyond death, and believe mortality is an obstacle to overcome. Many seek an eventual merger with technology where Artificial Intelligence is implanted within them, while robotics provides an enduring frame in which to carry their consciousness. For them, death is something to be feared and avoided. For the unbelieving, they actually have only one thing correct. For them, they should do everything they can to avoid death, and they should fear it, as to face the God of the created is truly a fearful thing without believing the redemptive power of Jesus the Christ.
Perfection in this life cannot be achieved, only pursued. Man and woman were cursed because of their sinful act in the Garden of Eden. The earth itself was cursed (Genesis 3:15-19). One’s health or wealth has no bearing upon the value of an individual. One’s health or wealth does not determine one’s eventual salvation. FREEDOM and LIBERTY are a gift of spiritual redemption, and they are also ideals to be pursued and claimed in our temporal existence. These ideals allow the righteous to mature, and the opportunity to share “The Gospel”, the only Gospel of significance. The one that proclaims, “He is risen!” Set not your heart on things below, but on things above (Colossians 3:2).
“Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways; Reclothe us in our rightful mind, In purer lives Thy service find, In deeper rev’rence, praise.”
“O Sabbath rest by Galilee, O calm of hills above, Where Jesus knelt to share with Thee The silence of eternity, Interpreted by love!”
“Drop Thy still dews of quietness, Till all our strivings cease; Take from our souls the strain and stress, And let our ordered lives confess The beauty of Thy peace.”
“In simple trust like theirs who heard Beside the Syrian sea The gracious calling of the Lord, Let us, like them, without a word, rise up and follow Thee.”
John G. Whittier (1872)