Prosperity Gospel - The 'gospel' that teaches that those who have faith in God will then in return be blessed with money, success, and riches in this life

 The ideology seems silly, unbelievable and ignorant. I've heard about this blasphemous gospel mentioned throughout sermons, blogs, and articles hundreds of times. And despite the fact that the prosperity theology has become a hot button debate topic over the years, I have always seemed to bypass the discussions - believing that it did not warrant much of my attention. After all, with my reformed conservative Christian theology, wasn't I impervious to such wrong thinking? And yet again, by the grace of God, my own humanity and sinfulness have revealed that I am not unlike the others. Sure, I don't go to a multi-mega church, my pastor doesn't have a huge silver globe on stage, and I don't own any "christianized" self-help books - but, despite my reformed theology, I have found that underneath some of my thinking lies the prosperity gospel. Countless times I have caught myself believing that because I did not do my quiet times that morning, I was then punished with a complication in my life. Or on the flip side, any victories or gifts in my life were because I had tithed, read, and seemingly had the Christian life together. Personal triumphs or not - the Lord whom I serve still remains the same God. A God who's relationship with His people does not require deeds to merit His love. Praise the Lord that His mercy and favor rests not on my own doing, but through His Son Jesus Christ.