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<\/p>\nThe internet is buzzing with reactions to a particularly tone-deaf tweet from millionaire televangelist Joel Osteen, who urged people to enjoy the \u201csimple things\u201d in life even if they lack substantial resources. Osteen, 61, has an estimated net worth of at least $50 million and owns two luxurious homes in Texas valued at $10.5 million and $2.9 million. His Houston mansion features a pool, pool house, and three elevators.<\/p>\n
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Many quickly pointed out the apparent hypocrisy of Osteen\u2019s message, given his affluent lifestyle and prominent status at Lakewood Church, where he serves as senior pastor. The megachurch operates on an annual budget of around $70 million, funded by generous donations from followers who heed Osteen\u2019s calls for contributions.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Osteen tweeted, \u201cIt\u2019s the simple things in life that bring us the most joy,\u201d adding that those without many resources are still \u201cblessed\u201d if they have their health and can enjoy simple pleasures like looking at the stars.<\/p>\n
Critics were swift to call out Osteen\u2019s lack of awareness. One person sarcastically remarked, \u201cIf you can look up at those stars from the balcony of your mansion, you\u2019re Joel Osteen.\u201d Another questioned the morality of anyone donating to what they termed a \u201cmorally bankrupt conman.\u201d Another tweet highlighted the irony of Osteen\u2019s message given his wealth: \u201cYou may not have a lot of resources\u2026 multiple mansions, a yacht, and sports cars were all purchased off the backs of the suckers he\u2019s referring to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Osteen\u2019s church has been the subject of controversy before. During Hurricane Harvey, he initially refused to open the church\u2019s doors to victims, only relenting after public outcry. One Twitter user referenced this incident, quipping, \u201cSaw Joel Osteen trending and thought he had locked his church doors during a hurricane again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Comparisons to other public figures, such as Donald Trump, surfaced as well. One user wrote, \u201cJoel Osteen and Donald Trump are basically the same person. Both fake Christians that sucker the weak-minded out of their money.\u201d Others mocked Osteen by juxtaposing his tweet with images of his opulent lifestyle, including a private jet and luxurious mansions. Another pointed out his rumored $54 million yearly salary, despite his claims of relying solely on book sales for income.<\/p>\n
In a viral post, a user highlighted Osteen\u2019s hypocrisy: \u201cJoel Osteen, worth $100 million, living in multiple mansions and owning multiple yachts wants you to know that money won\u2019t bring you joy, but he still wants you to send him all of the money you can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Osteen took over Lakewood Church in 1999 after his father\u2019s death. The church was criticized in 2021 for receiving $4.4 million in PPP loans, which were later returned. The Financial Times reported in 2019 that Lakewood Church collected $89 million in donations in 2017 but spent only $1.2 million on charitable causes while using $115 million to upgrade their facility, which included two 30-foot waterfalls.<\/p>\n
Despite the backlash, Osteen\u2019s tweet continues to draw attention, with many pointing out the disparity between his words and actions. The televangelist\u2019s apparent disconnect from the struggles of ordinary people has once again put him at the center of a heated debate about wealth and religion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The internet is buzzing with reactions to a particularly tone-deaf tweet from millionaire televangelist Joel Osteen, who urged people to enjoy the \u201csimple things\u201d in life even if they lack substantial resources. Osteen, 61, has an estimated net worth of at least $50 million and owns two luxurious homes in Texas valued at $10.5 million […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnews06.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnews06.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnews06.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnews06.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnews06.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2017"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fnews06.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2018,"href":"https:\/\/fnews06.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017\/revisions\/2018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnews06.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnews06.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnews06.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}