Joyce Meyets

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Anglewannabe

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Has anybody read anything by her? I bought a daily devotional and I find it comforting to read and really good about teaching how to trust God. I googled her name to see if she was Catholic (she isn’t) and found out she is rich and when criticized for being wealthy she said ‘I don’t have to apologize for being blessed’, which I found to be a smug comment. That kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. I almost wish I never knew that about her because now I am less comfortable reading her book (even though it is good)

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Did you see/hear her make the comment, or did you just read it? Because while it could have been a smug comment, just reading the words does not come off that way to me at all. There is no sin in being wealthy, although being wealthy does lead to certain temptations that the non-rich probably aren’t very familiar with.

I wonder also if the context you read the comment in was inclined to be less favorable toward the author. I don’t know anything about her specifically, but it’s not uncommon for authors who are successful to have a certain degree of wealth - either they accumulate it because of their craft or their wealth gives them the time to work on their craft, or both. 🙂
 
She has a regular TV spot on free-to-air in Australia and I’ve watched her often.

Folks like Joyce Meyer and Joel Osteen get bad press unfairly IMHO.

People mistakenly think that the so-called ‘prosperity Gospel’ is necessarily or primarily about money and hence they tend to equate it with the love of money.
But I don’t believe they actually preach;
…join our church and you’ll get rich
…pray for money and you’ll get it
…if you’re poor it’s because you lack faith

They know perfectly well the biblical admonishments about the love of money and the difficulty camels have fitting thru the eye of a needle.

From Joyce Meyer’s website FAQ
…A "prosperity gospel” that solely equates blessing with financial gain
is out of balance and could damage a person’s walk with God.
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I’m truly blessed that i don’t share my life in any way with this lady :rolleyes:
 
Anglewannabe said:
Has anybody read anything by her? I bought a daily devotional and I find it comforting to read and really good about teaching how to trust God. I googled her name to see if she was Catholic (she isn’t) and found out she is rich and when criticized for being wealthy she said ‘I don’t have to apologize for being blessed’, which I found to be a smug comment. That kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. I almost wish I never knew that about her because now I am less comfortable reading her book (even though it is good)

Comments?
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Joyce Meyers comes off to some as a “tough broad” because she is no nonsense in her speaking style. I refused to watch her for a long time but every once in a while I do catch her and think she does a good job to reaching issues especially concerning women.

Blessings,

Rita
 
Regarding the comment that bothered the OP, wealth is not a sin. As Blessed Teresa of Calcutta used to say, “Serve God where he places you. If he puts you in the street, serve him from the street. And if he puts you in a castle, serve him from the castle. You don’t put yourself in the street or in the castle, but you serve him from wherever you are.”

Joyce has money. So what? She seems to have a genuine love for Our Lord and the people to whom she preaches. Hopefully she loves Our Lord above all, but there’s no way any of us can judge that.

But I don’t enjoy her preaching very much – seems more like self-help stuff than the gospel.
 
I would be very careful developing any strong attachment to her. I am not sure the criticisms of her money issues are totally unfounded though. I have seen the ministries property (she is based in eastern Missouri not far from my in-laws.)

She is a very, very good speaker, but so was Father Corapi. She reminds me of him with her claim of humble background (she left an abusive marriage), how she beat the odds (she was told she couldn’t be a preacher because she was a woman, but by golly she did anyway), and the way she sticks to the red meat issues.

She is evangelical and don’t think too friendly towards Catholics. I lost any interest in listening to her when I her make some comments about how she ministered to a young woman with a family background “that we would consider a cult”. She never directly stated Catholic, so I am assuming a little here, but I know many evangelicals consider us a cult. Her market is very much a “bible thumper” crowd.

Just please be careful. A little research into her background wouldn’t hurt.
 
I actually have met Joyce Meyer personally as my mother has done contract work for her for years. (Not directly related to her ministry.) She is, in fact, massively wealthy, and she has gotten so because of the tremendous number of books, DVDs, conferences, she has sold. I don’t think there is any reason to believe that she is taking her wealth from the donations people make to her ministry, as some people like to suggest. She has several legitimate charities that help impoverished people in St. Louis and around the world.

I also think she has been unfairly scrutinized by the community because of her wealth. I haven’t heard her say anything directly against Catholics or Catholicism, not even emphasizing the obvious theological differences between the Catholic Church and evengelicalism. She seems to keep the theology aspect pretty vague in her talks and focuses on Jesus’ love and forgiveness. I know Catholics who have attended her women’s events and they loved them and were not offended by anything she said.

As far as the comment goes, I think she is right. It is not a sin to be wealthy. And in as much as and the media is ready to jump down her throat at even the most outlandish accusation of impropriety, I think she’s probably be kept pretty honest.
 
I have never read any of her books, but I’ve watched her often. She isn’t Catholic, but it doesn’t matter, because her sermons are more focused on basic living and everyday life. I find her to be very uplifting and comical, especially the way she interacts with her audience and often makes references to her husband sitting there. Anyone who watches her will know what I mean.🙂
 
I like Joyce and I like Joel also. I think they are both unfairly criticized. I’ve watched Joyce’s show and although I have not seen her live I like her style. I’ve never heard anything offensive from her. I call her a strong starting point, there are people who start out watching her or Joel on TV because that’s the only church they are getting. If that gets people into a better relationship with God and into an actual physical church I think its awesome.
 
I would not be concerned with whether she is wealthy or not. My concern with her is that I have heard that she claims to receive private revelation directly from God. I do not know if that is true or not, but I do not care to hear her preaching (she is not Catholic, why should I?) But if I did want to listen to her or buy her book, that is something I might research.

If she teaches the prosperity gospel (I think that she does) she is teaching heresy. I spent a lot of time believing that nonsense when I was a protestant. Not that I ever gave any of those preachers a lot of money. While they preach about money and financial security I never heard them talk about what about if you literally do not have a penny to give and you are starving or there is a chance you can die for the faith. Seems like the prosperity gospel only works for people that come from wealthy Christian countries 🤷

With all that said, I am sure she means well and good for her if she does a lot of charity work. I don’t take that away from her. Just, why would a Catholic risk listening to teachings that are not Catholic teachings when there are good CATHOLIC teachers out there?
 
Any time someone becomes wealthy due to their preaching I become immediately suspicious. This is because no one gets that popular unless they are telling people what they want to hear. Watch an O’Steen broadcast. Formulaic message of how God did amazing things for this or that person (cured their cancer, saved them from bankruptcy, etc) and he’ll do it for you too!!! A little of that would be fine, but missing is the message that we need to repent. To be fair, I almost never hear this in a homily these days either. And not a cross in sight anywhere at his church.
 
I haven’t read anything from her. I have sometimes watched her tv show. I find that she describes how to live a Christian life in a practical way with practical examples. I really don’t care if she is wealthy or not. I’m not giving her any money.
 
CthgeDelendaEst said:
Any time someone becomes wealthy due to their preaching I become immediately suspicious. This is because no one gets that popular unless they are telling people what they want to hear. Watch an O’Steen broadcast. Formulaic message of how God did amazing things for this or that person (cured their cancer, saved them from bankruptcy, etc) and he’ll do it for you too!!! A little of that would be fine, but missing is the message that we need to repent. To be fair, I almost never hear this in a homily these days either. And not a cross in sight anywhere at his church.
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This is what I was getting at, too. I don’t know any specifics about her misusing donations. I just think that a healthy dose of skepticism should be used for someone who becomes very wealthy peddling Jesus stuff.

She is a very good speaker (sales person) who sticks to meat and potato issues.
 
LaughingBoy1503 said:
With all that said, I am sure she means well and good for her if she does a lot of charity work. I don’t take that away from her. Just, why would a Catholic risk listening to teachings that are not Catholic teachings** when there are good CATHOLIC teachers** out there?
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Sadly, as much as I am sure good Catholic teachers exist, I have not met very many. And the very few Catholics that do help me are too busy to meet all my needs and I respect their time.

Her daily devotional is about how to learn to totally trust God. Which is what I want to learn to do. If you can recommend a Catholic daily devotional that does the same, please do so.

The problem I am having is I do know some educated Catholic theologians that I totally trust to answer my questions about the faith. However, when it comes time to apply the faith in my day to day life, they don’t understand what I live through. Some are uncomfortable talking/listening when true feelings are coming out. Other’s (such as priest) genuinely don’t know what it is to struggle in the workforce and offer ‘practical’ advise that makes it clear the last time they were in the work force was in the 60s

What I like about Jovce Meyers (by the way, I just noticed the typo in the title and hope we are talking about the same woman :p) is she is giving examples of things that do happen in a typical day.

Angie
 
My opinion is if you are getting something from her devotional use it. Gaining insight from a devotional or novel from a Christian who is not Catholic does not need to undermine your faith. Use your discernment to choose materials that are not offensive or insensitive to your faith. Good Luck.
 
Anglewannabe said:
Sadly, as much as I am sure good Catholic teachers exist, I have not met very many. And the very few Catholics that do help me are too busy to meet all my needs and I respect their time.

Her daily devotional is about how to learn to totally trust God. Which is what I want to learn to do. If you can recommend a Catholic daily devotional that does the same, please do so.

The problem I am having is I do know some educated Catholic theologians that I totally trust to answer my questions about the faith. However, when it comes time to apply the faith in my day to day life, they don’t understand what I live through. Some are uncomfortable talking/listening when true feelings are coming out. Other’s (such as priest) genuinely don’t know what it is to struggle in the workforce and offer ‘practical’ advise that makes it clear the last time they were in the work force was in the 60s

What I like about Jovce Meyers (by the way, I just noticed the typo in the title and hope we are talking about the same woman :p) is she is giving examples of things that do happen in a typical day.

Angie
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I do not read any daily devotionals, so I cannot help you there. But I am sure there are people on this site who do know of some. Yeah, I was think more along the lines of your professor Scott Hahns or your Fulton Sheens. By the way, I am confused now, you are talking about Joyce Meyers, right? I say if you are not getting theology from This daily devotional and are able to spot what is not a Catholic Teaching coming out of all these protestant ministers mouths so often (or from their pen) then I don’t see a problem. I guess just because I use to be a protestant, I have had enough so I dont care in the least bit to read or watch anything protestant lol. I am sure there are good Catholic daily devotionals out there. Probably just harder to find.
 
Anglewannabe said:
If you can recommend a Catholic daily devotional that does the same, please do so.
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In Conversation With God by Francis Fernandez Carvajal. There are seven books to cover the Church year, but they are such amazing meditations that it’s worth it! You can get them as books or digital downloads from a variety of sites.

I also LOVE the daily readings from the Office of Readings (Liturgy of the Hours). Again, you can purchase the Liturgy of the Hours books (there are four for the year), or you can go to this website (DivineOffice.org) to read the readings online for free.

God bless you!

Gertie
 
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