Dear Stacy,

 

You brought up a subject that has been on my mind recently and which we all need to remind ourselves frequently about as a warning to be watchful and careful what thoughts we entertain from the preachers of the so-called Prosperity Gospel.

 

The phrase King's Kids is promoted by the late author Harold Hill in his book by the title How to Live Like a King's Kid: The Miracle Way of Living That Has Changed Millions of Lives! This book can be found at Amazon where a used paperback copy can be had for 23 cents. I would not place the value of that book at even such a value as a guide for living in our present world!

 

This book by Mr. Hill presents a version of what is referred to as the Prosperity Gospel, espoused by Joel Olsteen, Creflo Dollar, Robert Schuller and others. According to this Gospel, selected verses from the Bible are carefully chosen and used by these preachers to support their belief that God wants believers to be rich and successful in this present world. In other words, that we are the children of the King and that we are entitled to enjoy the blessings and the love of power and special privileges in the world.

 

We are told that we should be proud and think highly of ourselves as specially-selected people, God's favorites because we follow His instructions for living in complete trust in His favoritism towards us. Such a teaching for how we should live in the present evil world is directly opposite to what Jesus actually preached to His followers.

 

The verses by Jesus that are ignored or explained away refer to people loved by the world as enemies of God, and refer to the difficulty of rich men entering the kingdom of heaven. We are told instead to be rich in good works (1 Tim. 6:18) and that the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10). We are told that we should deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Jesus (Matt. 16:24). To be seeking our own wealth and life of ease and power here in this evil world is not at all what Jesus preached.

 

We are told by Jesus that we should strive to lose our lives rather than seek to gain the whole world (Matt. 16:25-26) and that to lose one's soul in the pursuit of worldly riches is not profitable. (Matt. 16:26). The purveyors of the Prosperity Gospel are preaching just the opposite to what Jesus preached so strongly in words and by His own life example against the accumulation and desire of worldly riches.

 

In my opinion, it is important when listening to the Prosperity Gospel preachers to remind ourselves that they are presenting a few verses, out of context, as proof texts to support their misguided beliefs, and that they are ignoring some of Jesus' most powerful words concerning how we should live our life of faith and trust in God in this present world where evil rules. They certainly say a few things that are true, but they mix in many things that are not true so as to change the original meaning. 

 

"I am the way, the truth and the life." John 14:6 "My kingdom is not of this world." John 18:36

 

I hope this helps you understand the King's Kids concept a little bit. I suggest you search with Google if you want more info.

 

With love,

 

Robert