The Trojan Horse

I can't seem to get this theme out of my heart. The get rich thing. I apologize for sounding the alarm repeatedly here but if the soldiers sleep while the enemy approaches then we're all at risk, are we not? Not only has the enemy been sighted but the Trojan horse is being dragged into the city now.

In the Trojan Horse story, the city is besieged for some 10 years. 10 years the Trojans keep the Greeks at bay. That's a long time to resist an army. In the end it was a simple trick that got them all the access they needed to enter the impenetrable city and concur the unconquerable. One day the enemy forces just up and retreat, leaving behind the Trojan Horse (most likely the seige tower/battering ram) on the open plain. A spy withing the city walls convinces them to go out and bring the horse in as a trophy of sorts. Once inside and under cover of darkness the Greek soldiers hidden inside, descend upon the sleeping Trojans.

The prosperity gospel heard from the pulpits of so many America churches and around the world today (God forgive us for exporting this) needs to be seen as what it really is – a Trojan Horse of Satan. The lure of earthly riches: large incomes, great monetary wealth, excessive possessions, temporal comforts and all the things that moth and rust destroy is just a trap. Nothing but the same technique the serpent used on Eve in the Garden of Eden. He's packaged it up nicely and dressed it up in Scripture – twisted, misapplied, out of context Scripture – and made it so appealing, thanks to our modern day “God Wants You Rich” preachers that we have no idea that this “gift” is NOT from God. Its a Trojan Horse from hell.

Look at this passage;

People who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. (1 Tim. 6:9)

I don't know, this passage seems pretty straight forward to me. What am I missing here? The people who long to be rich are the ones buying into (literally) the prosperity message. Making it's proponents very rich indeed. And in turn making themselves proponents. It seems from this passage that it's just the longing to be rich that causes the trouble.

According to this verse, you don't get freedom or happiness or peace or anything else good from pursuing riches. You get trapped. You begin to desire harmful and foolish things. You get ruin and destruction. How can this be made any clearer? How can this be a good thing? Are we just that stupid?

Lets go back and look at the verse just before this one.

True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can't take anything with us when we leave it. So, if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. (1 Tim6:8)

Have you EVER heard anyone preach a message like that? Have you ever seen a book title like that? New York Times best seller: Food and Clothing Only: Be Content! No way! No one, and I mean NO ONE is going to buy that book!

So was Paul delusional? Was Jesus?

I don't know about you but I'm often discontent owning a ton more than just food and clothing. Here lies the key to discontentment. The more we have the more we want. It's like some law. The more we acquire the more we want to acquire. We find more ways to acquire and more ways to justify our acquisitions until...how did Jesus put it;

You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

Could this be the trap?

Hey, lets get the next best seller on how to become a millionare. Let's get the CD set. Let's go to the seminar. Whatever it takes to get that income up, up, up. I am rich. I have everything I want. I don't need a thing. So we really don't need God but He does makes a great endorsement on the cover of our new book.

Now lets look at the rest of this passage.

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wanderer from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Only some people craving money have wanderer from the true faith. The others repented before it was too late. You just can't run after money and run after Jesus at the same time. You just can't.

Slowly and steadily the message to the church has been that getting rich was the answer to so many of our problems. It used to be that the lie sat outside the city limits, an enemy army, waiting us out. Then the message began to look appealing to a much larger number of Kingdom dwellers until the day came when the army vanished and all that was left was the amazing gift of the Trojan Horse. There is sat beckoning, “Take me as your prize. Come and get me. I will be the symbol of your great achievement.” So we've wheeled the monster past our safe and secure borders to the sounds of jubilant singing. Empty songs of battles won but never fought. Rejoicing over a victory that is never to come.

True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can't take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wanderer from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. (1 Tim. 6:6-10)