Prosperity and Faith

Yesterday on WNYC, I listened to a program about the "Prosperity Gospel," a Pentacostal Christian movement that claims that the recession, and people's economic struggles, come from lack of faith in, or disobedience to, God. My immediate thought was, how mean-spirited and unfair. After all, Jesus and his followers were not wealthy people. Jesus was particularly kind and compassionate towards those who were disenfranchised from society, and critical of the wealthy and sometimes hypocritic members of the upper-class. How can these preachers chastise their followers and accuse them of causing their own economic woes by not believing or praying enough?

But then I thought about the question another way. Can you be poor from lack of faith? I believe the answer is yes. Think about this country. We have wealth and leisure time that are unimaginable to people like Flor and Thomas. And yet, Americans take anti-depressants in record numbers. We careen through relationships; we are continually dissatisfied or bored with our lives. Our secular lives, our emphasis on consumerism, have not brought us deep and lasting happiness. They can't. On the other hand, there are people in the world who have very little, and yet they are content and peaceful. Whether it is a belief in the dharma, Jesus, or secular humanism, we must have faith in something beyond ourselves. We must help others; that is what really makes us happy. We must measure our wealth in love and happiness, not possessions. Otherwise, no matter how much we have, we will be poor in spirit.

I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life. Since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. The key is to develop inner peace. H.H.D.L.