Legacy Ladies Note: Mackenzie is a sophomore at SMU and a friend and Phi Lamb sister I adore. She absolutely rocks a pixie cut (not pictured) and is one of the most unique, intelligent, and witty humans I know. I’m excited for what she has to share with you!     -Nikki Dabney

By Mackenzie Young

You, the Body of Christ, are a wonderful people. You pursue Christ in your careers, your families, your hobbies. However, there is a subculture of Christian people that have been preaching a prosperity gospel. Essentially, this group preaches that faith in the One True God is a sort of exchange: if you have faith in God, He will provide you with health, wellness, prosperity, and long life. Not only is this view not biblically sound – it’s simply contradictory to the Gospel. The prosperity gospel ignores those who are devout in their faith and suffer from illness, grief, strife, and general poverty.

We are ignoring a substantially less prosperous group that is also desperately in need of Christ’s love and healing redemption. Christ didn’t come with a price tag, and He shouldn’t come with a price tag today.

We believe and preach a prosperity gospel with our actions and attitudes.

We, the prosperous, make excuses for why we don’t make eye contact with the homeless, or ignore victims of poverty who need our help. We are God’s hands and feet. God helps others through us!

We say things like, “God helps those who helps themselves” and misquote Jeremiah 29:11 to friends going through trying times.

We, as young women, need to become more vigilant to the poverty around us. We spend countless dollars on fashion, food, and other outright luxuries. By learning to say no to our desires and learning to say yes to the needs of those stricken with poverty, we become more like Christ wanted us to be. To invite those who are the least to dine at our table brings us closer to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Christ, the Son of God, does not mince His words: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor” (Luke 12:33). Do you feel entitlement over “your” possessions? Giving up our possessions shouldn’t be a difficult thing to do. In fact, it should bring us life.

Repeatedly, we are called by Christ to literally make ourselves the least (Luke 18:24-25, Matthew 25:40). Does your life revolve around your needs, your wants, and making yourself comfortable? How can you start to make yourself the least?

Jesus took our attitude toward the poor extremely seriously and even outlined eternal consequences. He said the way we treat the least, is the way we treat Him. (That’s huge.)

Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” –Matthew 25:45-46

The cost of true discipleship is everything (Luke 14:33). Do you have a heart that is quick to sacrifice or quick to store up worldly possessions and accomplishments for yourself?

This is a HUGE heart check to me. It’s time to stop teaching this prosperity gospel and start living the Gospel that Christ breathed into this world.

In His Precious Name,

Disobedient and Greedy