By Columnist Bob Bridge
Just more than five years ago I fell asleep on a Sunday night with my laptop on my nightstand. I had begun watching the Packers and Vikings, then switched to the movie “The Town” before the Sandman swept me away to dreamland.
I awakened in the wee hours of the morning and tuned to an old episode of “The Andy Griffith Show.” Since my elbow was positioned precariously close to the keyboard, I’m not altogether certain what channel was airing when I recognized the grating voice of a peppy peddler.
The pontificator was none other than Peter Popoff, the infamous faith healer who has arisen since his fall from grace in the mid-1980s. The eccentric evangelist was offering viewers a free sip of “spring miracle water.”
Imagine that!
No more limping to and fro. No more aches and pains emanating from that skewed spine of mine.
Hallelujah!
Then again ... maybe not.
Popoff is a testament to the sad reality that thousands, if not millions, of naive folks are vulnerable to farce. Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker are two others who have managed to “resurrect” their ministries and bank accounts.
I’m reminded of an observation by famed German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. “The charlatan takes very different shapes according to circumstances,” he opined, “but at bottom he is a man who cares nothing about knowledge for its own sake, and only strives to gain the semblance of it that he may use it for his own personal ends, which are always selfish and material.”
Since then I have studied televangelism a tad more closely. This is what I have gleaned:
There’s nothing quite like a “prosperity ministry” to separate poor people from what little treasure they possess.
During this special season we should focus on thanks and giving. Be grateful to God and give, unselfishly, to the needy.
Should we strive and insist on a life of financial abundance? I think not.
I am instructed to love God and my neighbors. I am cautious of the concept of materialism and seeking earthly comfort and convenience.
Luke said, “No servant can serve two masters … You cannot serve God and money.”
I am not a judge. Nor am I a televangelist, promoting a prosperity ministry.
It’s your life, your choice.
Columnist Bob Bridge welcomes comments at 812-276-9646 or bbbbbridge@gmail.com.
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