Though John Calvin (Geneva) died in 1564 and John Knox (Scotland) died in 1572, their teachings continue to prod each of us toward productivity and perfection. The followers of these reformers made a direct connection between the blessing and approval of God and material prosperity. Riches became the visible manifestation of God's delight with his people. In order to demonstrate to the world God's special love toward them, these folk scrimped and saved, worked to exhaustion, and put themselves on rigid schedules. It did work --God blessed them --at least in terms of getting rich. It is no job to quote Biblical passages that support thrift and hard work; but is there a "down side" to such a theological formula for prosperity?
The Doonstras lived on a meticulously manicured dairy farm with sixty well-groomed Holstein cows. Each Sunday they arrived at church without fail in their late model, sparkling clean Cadillac. God had blessed them beyond measure. Then one evening I got a call from Carol Doonstra --could I come milk the dairy herd; Fred had collapsed in the milk house. After milking the herd, I met Carol and Fred at the hospital. Though there was no apparent damage to Fred's heart, he had nearly died as his heart-rate plummeted toward zero. Fred had tried to use his body as if it were a machine; finally, his heart rebelled against the overwork and exhaustion. Fortunately, he arrived at the hospital before his heart stopped entirely. The doctor's prescription? Fred needed to reexamine his work-ethic theology.
Of course, prosperity theology worked a great deal better in America, where the soil was deep, the forest rank, population sparse, and oil, gas and coal were plentiful! It just didn't work as well in the African deserts, or the overcrowded streets of Calcutta. My own questions come from having seen too many instances where the wicked prospered, while the righteous were oppressed, as mentioned in Psalm 73:12. However, there are other dangers; the quest for prosperity is very often driven by less admirable qualities like pride, greed, and stinginess. We may actually take advantage of others to advance ourselves. The Bible does say, "But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction" (1 Timothy 6:9).
Clinicians and researchers have identified a powerful correlation between over-achieving perfectionism and such problems as depression, suicide, anorexia, and bulimia. Having grown up on dairy farms, both Gloria (Mrs. Marple) and I have a healthy (or unhealthy) dose of the Protestant work ethic. Basically, that means that when we take a vacation, we never enjoy the second half of the week; by then, the guilt thermometer has risen to the point of driving us back to work! Instead of going back to work refreshed, as God might have intended, we return feeling guilty for having vacationed at all! Could there be a better balance? When a famous television commentator interviewed the late Mother Teresa in Calcutta, he said, "Mother Teresa, I wouldn't do what you're doing for all the money in the world." She replied, "Neither would I." Perhaps, God intended that we ought to love and enjoy life as well as make a success of it.