For many Christians, money remains one of the most emotionally charged topics in faith conversations.
In church culture, prosperity is often viewed with suspicion, while the broader culture openly glorifies wealth, status and success as markers of personal value. The result is tension, confusion, and in some cases guilt, even for those sincerely seeking to honor God.
In a recent podcast, Pastor Kap Chatfield and Luke Reelfs explored this tension through a Kingdom lens, arguing that the issue is not prosperity itself but a misunderstanding of order, identity and purpose.
Rather than framing money as either dangerous or divine, the discussion pointed toward a biblical middle ground where provision flows from alignment with God’s design.
The Problem With the Extremes
Scripture does not present poverty as a virtue or wealth as a vice, yet both ideas have taken root in different spaces. In secular culture, money is often elevated to a measure of worth, pushing people to sacrifice integrity, family and peace in pursuit of financial success.
In contrast, church culture can swing toward the opposite extreme, treating prosperity as spiritually suspect or inherently corrupting.
Both approaches miss the heart of God.
When money becomes an identity, it enslaves. When money becomes taboo, it produces fear and passivity. Neither reflects the Kingdom pattern found in Scripture.
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Identity Comes Before Increase
A central theme of the conversation was that fulfillment begins with identity, not provision. Scripture consistently points to sonship and relationship with God as the foundation of contentment. When identity is secure, money loses its power to define or dominate.
The discussion revisited the Genesis account, noting that humanity’s first temptation was rooted in perceived lack. Eve was drawn toward what she believed she did not have, despite living in abundance. That same scarcity mindset, when left unchallenged, still distorts how people relate to God, work and provision today.
Kingdom prosperity does not begin with acquiring more but with recognizing what God has already supplied and trusting Him as the source.
Becoming Comes Before Having
Rather than promoting material ambition, the conversation emphasized growth in character, responsibility and stewardship. God’s concern, they suggested, is not primarily what people possess but who they are becoming.
Increase requires capacity. Leadership, generosity, and influence must be developed before they can be sustained. From this perspective, the desire for more is not sinful when it is tied to service, maturity and love for others.
Business and income, then, are not competing with faith but functioning as tools. Money becomes the byproduct of value creation, not the pursuit itself.
Seeking the Kingdom First
True prosperity was defined not as excess but as having more than enough to fulfill God-given assignments and bless others. When believers prioritize God’s Kingdom, provision follows naturally, not as a reward for striving but as the fruit of alignment.
Rather than chasing wealth or rejecting it outright, Kingdom order invites believers to seek God first, trust His design and steward what He provides with wisdom and humility.
In that order, prosperity no longer produces guilt or pride. It becomes a quiet testimony of God’s faithfulness at work through obedient lives.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a background in journalism from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine.
