December 15, 2020, 12:18 pm
Megachurch and “prosperity gospel” pastor Joel Osteen reportedly picked up $4.4 million from the COVID-19 small business relief fund established by the CARES Act, and people are not happy about it. Many small businesses were left out and ended up folding after the fund quickly ran out, in part between not-so-small businesses snapped much of the money up before those with fewer resources could apply.
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It only makes it worse that a megachurch is hardly something that could be called “small,” nor is it a “business,” which is why churches don’t have to pay taxes.
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I’m not surprised that Joel Osteen lied about receiving $4.4 million in PPP federal funds. This is the same guy who closed his church to the displaced in Houston after Hurricane Harvey and lied about flood damage. We had to publicly pressure him to open his doors.
— Charlotte Clymer
(@cmclymer) December 15, 2020
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Osteen runs the Lakewood Church in Houston and has a net worth of $100 million, up from $40 million in 2017. He started out making $200,000 as the pastor of Lakewood, but gave up his salary once he made so much money that $200,000 didn’t even seem worth it anymore. He cited the church’s annual budget as $70 million in 2009, and it’s considered to be the biggest megachurch in 2009.
With the church making so much money and Osteen denying his salary, many are wondering what Lakewood needs with $4.4 million from the Paycheck Protection Program. It doesn’t help that they make additional money by selling products like the “inspiration cube.”
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Another thing that makes this worse is that Osteen and Lakewood Church initially denied even applying for PPP. Isn’t there something in the Bible about lying?
Conveniently for him, Osteen’s “prosperity gospel” preaches that Jesus would want people to suck up and hoard as much money as they can, regardless of how little it leaves for the rest of us. This is how he justifies living in a mansion valued at $10.5 million while people remain hungry and cold on the streets throughout the country.
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Out of all the reactions, however, the most common seems to be an utter lack of surprise.
“I’m not surprised that Joel Osteen lied about receiving $4.4 million in PPP federal funds,” wrote Charlotte Clymer. “This is the same guy who closed his church to the displaced in Houston after Hurricane Harvey and lied about flood damage. We had to publicly pressure him to open his doors.”
*First Published: December 15, 2020, 12:18 pm
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