Kebra Negast and Wealth

Brad Hoh in his most recent blog discussed the concept of God granting wealth and monetary possessions to faithful followers. He references the Time Magazine article Does God Want You to Be Rich by David Van Biema and Jeff Chu, on which I also happened to write a paper. In my paper, I discussed the differences between the two ‘camps’ involved with this ideological debate. The more traditional religious groups felt that God wants all of his followers to be happy, but these people believe that happiness does not equate wealthy. The more Evangelical religious groups, or followers of the “Prosperity Lite” camp, believe that those who have the strongest faith in God will be rewarded monetarily. The believers of this less conventional camp use many Biblical quotes to strengthen their argument. Deuteronomy 8:17-18, for example, states, “Then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ And you shall remember the Lord you God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day” (Van Biema and Chu 52). This Biblical passage directly corresponds to the passage from the Kebra Negast that Brad used in his blog, “and his possessions became numerous, and his children were many; and God blessed him and he died in honor”. Both of these excerpts from their respective religious text illustrate the viewpoint of the Prosperity Lite groups and perhaps a portion of the Ethiopian Christian people. Brad, in his blog, disagrees with this way of thinking, and points out that it conflicts with the Catholic religion with which he was raised. I would agree with Brad and say that in my personal opinion, God (or any other higher being) would feel equally about all of his followers and not favor any one group over another by granting monetary possessions. I believe that good people who do good things will have good things done to them.