The sea rarely gives up the dead, or that’s what Phil Harris thought when he tried to throw former business partner Glenn Coggeshell overboard.

 

Selling God: The Money Changers of the 21st Century

I just finished reading yet another article about a so-called evangelist claiming he needs a million dollars—or else. It reminded me of the circus back in the '80s. Remember Oral Roberts? He said if he didn’t raise $8 million, God would “call him home.” That wasn’t a sermon—that was spiritual blackmail. And then there was Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, and a trail of others who followed. Decades later, not much has changed. Today, Jim Bakker’s still asking for money. Still selling God.

Tithes for Jets
This has been going on for years. TV evangelists manipulating people with emotional appeals and false promises—crying on camera while flying around in private jets. They demand tithes as if God’s grace is for sale. But it’s not just televangelists anymore. The new pulpit is digital.

Enter the Give.Tithe.ly app. Another platform telling people to “support the church” while charging fees and pushing people to give, give, give. Or worse, take the Hallow app—a prayer app for sale. Let that sink in: prayer, commodified. Holiness behind a paywall.

They have turned the house of God into a business—just like the money changers Jesus drove out of the temple.

"And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers…"
—Matthew 21:12

Today the tables are digital. And still, no one is flipping them.

Are People Really This Blind?
Sometimes I have to ask: Are people really this stupid? Or maybe the better word is “simple.” Either way, the answer is in the Bible.

Take the book of Jonah. Just four chapters long. Short. Simple. But full of deep truth.

Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh. He didn’t want them saved. When they repented and God spared them, Jonah got angry. Why? Because even Jonah—a prophet—didn’t understand God's mercy on simple people.

“And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?”
—Jonah 4:11

God is saying plainly: They don’t even know their right hand from their left. Should I not show mercy to such people?

Now fast forward to the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus, like Jonah before, stood on a mountain, looking down at the crowd. And He taught His disciples how to see the people with compassion—not contempt.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
—Matthew 5:3

He’s saying: They don’t have your faith.

“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”
—Matthew 5:4
They don’t have your strength.

“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”
—Matthew 5:5
They don’t have your voice to stand up.

Yet even in their weakness, Jesus says:

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
—Matthew 5:6

They long for truth. And that longing matters. And so does your mercy.

“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”
—Matthew 5:7

And that’s the kicker. If you want mercy from God, you better show it—even to the simple.

The Lie of Holy Commerce
But there are wolves among the sheep who know exactly what they’re doing. They use the weak. They exploit the poor in spirit. They sell salvation like it’s a stock option. And they twist scripture to justify it.

But God mocks our obsession with money. Why else would heaven be paved with gold?

“And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.”
—Revelation 21:21

Gold means nothing in heaven. It’s just pavement. Still, pastors chase it like it's the key to the Kingdom.

Even Peter had to pull a coin from a fish's mouth to pay a temple tax—just to show that God can supply from anywhere, not from begging.

“Go to the sea, cast a hook... thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.”
—Matthew 17:27

It was divine sarcasm. A holy joke. You want tax money? Here's a fish coughing up silver.

Apps, Data, and 21st Century Pharisees
Now the money changers wear hoodies and write code. Their apps are free—but your data is not. They sell your prayers, your location, your clicks. Others charge you to meditate or to “connect” with God. But nothing has changed.

“Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
—Matthew 6:24

Jesus didn’t charge for miracles. Paul made tents for a living. The gospel was never supposed to be a product.

“Freely ye have received, freely give.”
—Matthew 10:8

So why do pastors demand “seed offerings”? Why does a man of “faith” need to beg for a dime?

If you really believe—if your faith is as small as a mustard seed—you don’t need a donation form.

Lukewarm Christianity
This isn’t just about grifters. It’s about the body of Christ. Too many believers say “Amen” on Sunday and swipe their credit cards for comfort the rest of the week. That’s not faith. That’s lukewarm.

“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”
—Revelation 3:16

Pick a side. Be bold. Rebuke the apps. Call out the liars in suits. Tell people to read the Word—not from an app, but from the book. Dust it off. Open it.

Flip the Tables Again
Yes, some people are simple. That’s okay. Even God acknowledges that. But it’s the job of true Christians to protect them—not exploit them.

It’s time to call out the fakes.

It’s time to drive the money changers out—again.

And like the old Westerns, we need to tell the liars selling God for profit:

“Pack your bags, preacher. This town ain’t big enough for your kind of gospel.”