You are mistaking the call to excellence, value creation, and material provision with the prosperity gospel. These are not the same thing.
The prosperity gospel reframes prosperity as the primary or even sole marker of God’s goodness and right standing. Once that shift happens, prosperity becomes a spiritual scorecard. It is like a level you only need to cross slightly before losing the right frame of reference where wealth stops being a tool and starts functioning as proof.
This is why those who most clearly resist prosperity theology are often people who already have means, or those who live outside contexts of extreme deprivation (people outside the country like you said). Having tasted a reasonable standard of living, they come to a sobering realization that comfort, stability, and money cannot possibly be all the gospel has to offer. Provision answers some problems, but it does not resolve meaning, character, or spiritual formation, which is the primary goal of the gospel.
At its core, the prosperity gospel is a theological distortion. It ties money or the lack of it directly to spiritual status, and often treats material gain as the primary reward for obedience or faithfulness. In doing so, it collapses the richness of the gospel into a transactional system. This is biggest issue with WOF movement.
The Bible, by contrast, holds a more demanding and honest tension. It encourages diligence, responsibility, provision, and even leaving inheritances to one’s children. Nowhere are believers encouraged to be lazy, careless, or irresponsible. Yet Scripture is equally insistent in warning against using wealth as a measure of God’s faithfulness or approval. The existence of the “rich fool”, the rich young ruler, and the corrective force of books like the Book of Job make this unmistakable.
Prosperity may be present, but it is never definitive. Provision is good, but it is not proof. The gospel does not promise wealth as validation but what it promises is transformation, whether in abundance or in lack.
In an age of noise, truth still speaks.
Come and listen. Come and live.
🗓️ July 16 | 4PM
📍UNILAG Guest House Function Room
🔗 https://t.co/YJgyJzr7Xx
#WisdomCalls#unilag
@peter_richtarik Hi, Prof. Richtarik.
I'm interested in joining your lab as a VSRP intern to work on federated learning.
Currently in my 3rd year, I have a CGPA of 3.83/4.00 and I'm passionate about ML Research.
I will be immensely grateful to do impactful research under your mentorship. Thanks!
Just finished going through @tech_queen 's book on breaking into tech, which I bought yesterday.
Excellent insights from SWEs is my fav. part.
I've got big dreams for my tech journey this year.
Google, Meta, Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs, JPMC, BoA, Palantir?
This is a good start.
🔒
Ambitious nerds are a dangerous breed.
They can code. They can learn how to sell. They can teach themselves how to talk to users. They can attract smart people. They can see farther than most people as they’re at the cutting edge of technology. They don’t have a work life balance. They love hanging out with other ambitious nerds. They crave freedom and design their own world. They’ve an itch to solve problems they see in the world. They don’t take no for an answer. They’re unstoppable and don’t care about societal approval.
If you’re one, be proud of yourself. If you spot one, learn from them or work with them. If you see a non-ambitious one, encourage them to develop ambition.
Introducing: Caleb Adewole, B.Eng., Electrical and Electronics Engineering (First Class Hons, 4.85/5.00)
Notable stats:
- 339/400 in 2017 UTME
- 5 A's and 4 B's in WASSCE
- 96/100 in Post UTME
- Dean's list honoree, 10/10 semesters
- 2nd best student, EEE'22
#FUTAconvocation