Megachurch pastor/televangelist Joel Osteen is filthy rich, with an estimated net worth of between $40 and 60 million, and yet he and his church were only too happy to take COVID relief from the government:
“Lakewood Church received a $4.4 million Paycheck Protection Plan loan during the coronavirus pandemic, according to federal data. The loan was disbursed in July of this year.
U.S. Small Business Administration data, which was released at the beginning of December, showed that Lakewood Church’s PPP loan was created by Bank of America. The megachurch’s hefty loan was the third-largest PPP loan approved for a Houston-area entity during all of July and August, according to Chris Matthews at Houston Business Journal.”
While Osteen was taking that loan, millions of Americans were forced to try and survive on a one-time relief check of $1,200 from the federal government, proving that its who you know and who you’re connected to when it comes to sticking your snout in the trough of the U.S. Treasury.
It didn’t take long before social media lit up with outrage for Osteen and his so-called “Christian” ethics:
Joel Osteen is a grifting scumbag.
— Matt Murphy (@MattMurph24) December 15, 2020
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
They don’t pay taxes. They demand special exemptions from laws. They demand we all conform to their dogma. All the while raking in the dough and whining about perpetual “persecution”.
Religion is quite a racket.https://t.co/aNujo0oRRW#TaxChurches #JoelOsteen
— CrabDiving Podcast (@CrabDiving) December 15, 2020
Joel Osteen’s ridiculously huge mansion, paid for by the gullible and naive.
So humble. Jesus would be proud 🙄 pic.twitter.com/dCePFshyAi
— Paul 🍎 (@HeathenOnEarth_) December 15, 2020
Joel Osteen denied accepting any money from Federal PPP loans. Turns out his Lakewood Church took $4.4 million. https://t.co/P07oTfoL4S
— Travis Akers (@travisakers) December 15, 2020
Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church got $4.4 million in federal PPP loans despite church claims that they did not apply for financial support https://t.co/zoEP3uK2hY
— Alexandra Halaby (@iskandrah) December 15, 2020
Fake Christians and scam artists posing as men of God need to keep a bit of Scripture in mind that certainly applies to them:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23)
Featured Image Via NBC News