Our Prosperity Teachings I recently was searching on the Internet and bumped into a headline that read: Does the Bible Teach prosperity?, Joel Osteen Versus Rick Warren. I decided to read further. I quote here the two basic positions of these two very popular ministers, each one having thousands of followers. Joel Osteen says: “Does God want us to be rich?” he asks. “When I hear that word rich, I think people say, ‘Well, he’s preaching that everybody’s going to be a millionaire.’ I don’t think that’s it.” Rather, he explains, “I preach that anybody can improve their lives. I think God wants us to be prosperous. I think he wants us to be happy. To me, you need to have money to pay your bills. I think God wants us to send our kids to college. I think he wants us to be a blessing to other people. But I don’t think I’d say God wants us to be rich. It’s all relative, isn’t it?” Rick Warren says: “This idea that God wants everybody to be wealthy?”, [Rick] Warren snorts. “There is a word for that: baloney. It’s creating a false idol. You don’t measure your self-worth by your net worth. I can show you millions of faithful followers of Christ who live in poverty. Why isn’t everyone in the church a millionaire?” So the question this morning is the following: What does Unity say about prosperity? HOW DO WE RELATE TO GOD AND THE BIBLE I believe that the reason that these two well intentioned pastors are clashing in this position, is because they both are looking a God as someone or as a “being” that does things for you, or want you to be one way or the other. WHAT UNITY TEACHES ABOUT PROSPERITY The first important distinction that we need to make is our belief that God works in, around, through and as us. We teach that we are children of God created after God’s image and likeness. As such, we are an extension of everything that God is. Furthermore, we believe that there is only one MIND and that is the mind of God which is individualized in us. Now, it is very clear to me when Rick Warren says: “I can show you millions of faithful followers of Christ who live in poverty” that these millions of faithful followers, may be going to church, may be praying every day, they might even be tithing. Yet, there is one thing that is missing. And that is that their thoughts are not being congruent with the prosperity that they wish to experience. There is a direct relationship between the thoughts that I hold in my mind and the things that I experience. I grew up with the same teachings and the same paradigms and teachings that most people grew up. You know the drill: I heard things such as, money does not grow up in trees, money is the root of all evil, you must work very hard for your money, etcetera, and etcetera. And yes, I was working very hard but at the same time, I was whining and complaining about how bad things were, about the economy, about the breaks that other people got and I didn’t, etc., etc. Sounds familiar? Of course it does. It is your story and it is my story. What then is this field of infinite possibilities that Jesus called the Kingdom of God and that Jesus placed within us? I am certain that Jesus was referring to the infinite potential that we find in our minds, because we know beyond any reasonable doubt that what we grow in our conscious mind and subconscious mind, eventually will seek some kind of external manifestation. Joseph Murphy in his book The Power of Subconscious Mind says: When your mind thinks correctly, when you understand the truth, when the thoughts deposited in your subconscious mind are constructive, harmonious, and peaceful, the magic working power of your subconscious will respond and bring about harmonious conditions, agreeable surroundings, and the best of everything. When you begin to control your thought processes, you can apply the powers of your subconscious to any problem or difficulty. In other words, you will actually be consciously cooperating with the infinite power and omnipotent law, which governs all things. People at the time of Jesus did not have a great life. Their lives were not abundant by a any stretch of the imagination. Their lives were lives of oppression and poverty, lack and limitation. This people, in their limited understanding, thought that their fate was sealed and they could not do anything about it. But Jesus brought a new teaching. God was no longer an oppressive tyrant. Heaven was no longer an unattainable goal. Jesus told them, and us by extension, that a life of abundance was possible. In many respects, I compare Unity and the New Thought teachings in general, with Jesus. Before anyone accuses me of blasphemy, let me explain. Jesus message was about a shift in consciousness. Actually, this change in consciousness, this new way of thinking, eventually hit critical mass and became the Christian faith. Unity took the message of Jesus and organized it in a few basic principles that we can all put to the test. If we apply these principles mentally and spiritually, our lives can be prosperous, healthy and abundant. In the same way that people during the time of Jesus, saw in the Messiah the person who could free them from a life of oppression and limitation, Unity teaches that it is not necessary to live according to the cards we were given at birth , we can change that. We do not have to be a chip of the old block. We can change that. We do not need to have the same medical condition that prevails in our family. We can change that. We do not have to struggle just like our parents struggled. We can change that. When in consciousness we separate ourselves from our Source (ie, God) then we experience lack and hunger as the prodigal son in the Gospel story experienced deprivation and hunger. But, just like the prodigal son, we can rise, raise our consciousness, and say: I go to my father, (I'll go to my source) and say that I have sinned against you (I have felt that you are separate from me and I am separated from you, God.) And like the prodigal son, our heavenly Father will rejoice ( we get back in alignment) and our lives will be restored to a life of prosperity and abundance. We always have a choice: be rich and prosperous, or being poor. What will be your choice? God bless.