Here is a classic clip from the Daily Show--Craig Kilborn era--mocking Christian prosperity gospel teachers. The prosperity gospel teaches that Jesus was rich, and that if you are a faithful Christian, God will bless you with riches and good health. The problem is that this is a lie. According to this doctrine, some suburban millionaire attending a prosperity gospel megachurch is more faithful and blessed than a person who is being persecuted for their faith in a third-world country. Just as reprehensively, it stands to reason that if you aren't rich or have problems in your life, it is because you lack faith. So, if a family has a young child with cancer, the parents can blame themselves for not having the faith to keep the child well or to provide for a healing. This is just wicked. God may choose to bless you with riches and health, and wealth in and of itself is not evil. However, Christ said wealth is perhaps the greatest barrier to heaven (it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to reach heaven), and it seems odd that Jesus would grant riches to those who are truly faithful. Jesus is interested in us having a changed moral character, not in being our cosmic vending machine.
As for those who teach the prosperity gospel, it must be lovely to constantly request money from often poor Christians so one can live in a mansion, own a private jet, and drive a luxury car. I have no doubt that these folks are "taking up their cross and following Jesus." However, in their case it is a 24 karat gold cross that has been paid for by their followers. I would suggest that anyone who believes in the prosperity gospel and is consumed with amassing wealth consider the parable of the sheep and the goats.
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