Notice the first thing the devil did was to make Eve question what God said. Doubting God is the biggest ploy of the devil.
Genesis 3:1-3 "3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from [x]any tree of the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!"
Recently I was struck with the deception that is being propagated among the prosperity preachers. They claim that one lacks faith if they are sick or living in financial difficulties.
Ponder for a moment the fact that the prosperity preachers live lavish and opulent lifestyles that were afforded them by those to which they preach these lies about prosperity.
Notice too that they call God a liar by claiming that we should never be in poverty or illness? The very things God said were an integral part of the believers life.
Matthew 10:22
"22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved."
Luke 12:52-53 "…52 From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Prosperity preachers undermine the faith of people by promising wealth and health, when that is not the reality of life. Causing good people to think they are doing something wrong because they don't have these things.
These false teachers desire for the masses to place their trust in them rather than Christ. They do this by claiming untrue thing, getting the people to look to them instead of seeking Christ, while accepting the condition that Christ ordained for them.
Those who look to wealth and health have an attitude of demanding from God that which He may not be willing to give them. Wealth corrupts a person's faith far more than poverty does.
All we have to do in this country is look at what has happened to our culture because we live in wealth. Most people in this country have placed their trust in their wealth, becoming haughty, self righteous and demanding because they think they are special because of their prosperity.
Matthew 19:24 "…23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?"
We should not be treating people with contempt because they lack material wealth, nor should we be treating anyone with great honor because they are wealthy. Both the wealthy and the poor should be treated the same all the time.
James 2:1-7 "2 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
2 For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes,
3 and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?
7 Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?"
Narcissists will have a tendency to cozy up to both the wealthy and the poor, but their reasons are evil. They cozy up to the wealthy to be elevated in their own eyes, feeling special by association. These people cozy up to the poor to feel superior to them, desiring to control them.
I love God's wisdom, He clearly hates favoritism on any level. All men are equal with God, all have sinned needing a Savior and no one is special. Those who have trusted Christ are not special, it is Christ in them that is Superior to all!
Sadly, many people in this culture elevate those with degrees as though they have a special "in" with God more than anyone else. Each believer has the Holy Spirit and each believer is given a gift and job to do, no gift is better than another, just different. AND, each gift was given to the believer, it is not theirs to claim, as though they are special.
Christ alone is special, He has a purpose in all that we experience and His gifts belong to Him, imparted to us as He sees the need.
Bottom line is this; no one is special, no one is greater than another and only Christ in us is Superior.
Side note: Watch the prosperity preachers a couple of times and it is clear to the discerning eye, that they are full of themselves, deeply invested in wealth and popularity for themselves. These people are narcissists working hard to convince people to send them money. They are scammers and deceivers looking to live lavishly and opulently from the backs of ignorant simple minded people.
