[Note: This is a talk I gave at the ACTS Academy of Higher Education, where I addressed some of their faculty.]

Introduction

“He wants you to live in abundance. He wants to give you the desires of your heart…God is turning things around in your favor” These are the words of Joel Osteen in his book Your Best Life Now. When Dr. Rajesh asked me if I would be willing to speak on the issue of Suffering in light of the Prosperity Gospel, I jumped at the opportunity. Having lost my wife, Alice, just over ten months back, I have had an experience of suffering that I do not wish on anyone. I also personally struggle with a few health issues, having had a cyst in my brain removed in 2014 and having had a stroke in 2022. Hence, at least the ‘health’ part of ‘health and wealth’ was seemingly not mine.

In addition, I have been a school teacher for most of my working career. Hence, even the ‘wealth’ part of ‘health and wealth’ have not been mine. Don’t get me wrong. As Paul says, “I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Yes, that is the full context of that wonderful verse. It concerns being content in all situations. And I am content with what I have. And while no one in their right mind would call me poor, I am certainly not wealthy.

However, over the years, I have met quite a few people who have advocated the ‘health and wealth’ or prosperity gospel. And I know it is quite popular in some Christian circles. I, however, have never been attracted to these ideas. So in the past I have wondered about how such ideas could be accepted by others. I found the answer in an unlikely source – Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi minister of propaganda, who declared, “The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly – it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.”

Mind you, these are the words of a man who managed to convince a whole nation that there is something like a superior Aryan race and that homosexuals, communists, and Jews need to be targeted and exterminated. So, while I disagree with his views, I must concede that, concerning propaganda at least, he is the authority. What Goebbels declared is true about those who propose the prosperity gospel. They focus on just a few ideas and repeat them endlessly. So the question to me centers around how I can address this doctrine in the time allotted to me in a manner that is most meaningful to all of us.

I will divide the rest of my time into four parts. First, I will list and briefly explain some of the few things that prosperity preachers focus on. Second, I will look at some of the bible passages that prosperity preachers use to support their position. Along the way, I will demonstrate how these verses do not mean what the prosperity preachers tell us they mean. Third, I will look at some passages that go directly against what the prosperity preachers teach. Fourth, I will make an attempt to find a legitimate role for suffering in the context of God’s overarching plans for his currently broken and bruised creation.

Claims of the Prosperity Preachers 

So what are some of the main claims made by prosperity preachers? I will consider five. First, they assert that the Abrahamic covenant is a means to material entitlement. The Abrahamic covenant is described for us in Genesis 12, 13, 15, 17, and 22. The central promise of the covenant is from Genesis 12.3, where we read, “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” In Genesis 13.17 we read that God tells Abram, “Rise up, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” It seems clear that God was promising to bless Abram materially.

The problem here is that the prosperity preachers fail to understand that this was never intended to be a blessing to an individual. It was a promise to Abraham’s descendants as is clear from the rest of Genesis since Abraham died only possessing the cave of Machpelah, where he buried Sarah. Moreover, the blessing in Genesis 12 actually begins with v. 2, where we read, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” God promises to Abram that he would make him a great nation. This obviously means that the promises made to Abraham actually will not be fulfilled in his life.

But more importantly, there is a reason for God’s blessing because he says, “So that you will be a blessing.” In other words, if I think I am blessed when God gives me a lot of money, then the promise that I will be a blessing can only mean that I have to give that money away!

The second claim that prosperity preachers make is that Jesus’s atonement extends to the ‘sin’ of material poverty. Since material blessing is taken to be a sign of faithfulness, it follows that material poverty must be the result of faithlessness. If Jesus’ atonement extends to the ‘sin’ of material poverty, then he has dealt with that as well on the cross.

In the words of Kenneth Copeland, “The basic principle of the Christian life is to know that God put our sin, sickness, disease, sorrow, grief, and poverty on Jesus at Calvary.” However, Jesus himself told us not to store treasures here because they actually make it more difficult for us to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 6.19-21). Moreover, even though Matthew does link Jesus’ healing ministry with the prophecy of Isaiah 53 about Jesus ‘bearing our infirmities’ in Matthew 8.17, he does not do this in the context of Jesus’ death. In other words, while Matthew clearly knew about Isaiah 53, he is careful not to link healing with the atonement.

The third claim of prosperity preachers is that Christians give in order to gain material compensation from God. According to Robert Tilton, there is something he calls the ‘Law of Compensation’, according to which, “Christians should give generously to others because when they do, God gives back more in return.” We will address the false biblical foundations of this claim in the next part. For now, it should suffice to indicate that this cannot be a correct teaching. Jesus himself said that we should give, expecting nothing in return (Luke 6.35). But the ‘Law of Compensation’ says exactly the opposite – that we should give because we can expect more in return.

The fourth claim often made by prosperity preachers is that faith is a self-generated spiritual force that leads to prosperity. In The Laws of Prosperity, Kenneth Copeland writes, “Faith is a spiritual force, a spiritual energy, a spiritual power. It is this force of faith which makes the laws of the spirit world function. There are certain laws governing prosperity revealed in God’s Word. Faith causes them to function.” Again, we will address the false biblical foundations for this in the next section. However, the bible does not describe faith as a force anywhere. Rather, the only definition of faith we have is in Hebrews 11.1, where we read, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

In other words, faith is something that gives us the assurance that we are not believing in something that is false. And it gives us convictions about things that we cannot see. However, since material wealth can certainly be seen, there can actually be no faith associated with the accumulation of material wealth.

The fifth claim made by prosperity preachers is that prayer is a tool to force God to grant prosperity. In the words of Creflo Dollar, “When we pray, believing that we have already received what we are praying, God has no choice but to make our prayers come to pass. . . . It is a key to getting results as a Christian.”

Since God is our Father, we are expected to be bold to ask him for anything, no matter how large or small. However, the illogic of this claim can be clearly exposed. Suppose two very devout Christians apply for the same job. Both of them pray with the belief that they will get the job. We know that at least one of them, if not both, will have his/her faith shattered when they get the rejection email. While Jesus said that, with God all things are possible, even God cannot make something that is logically inconsistent happen. Hence, viewing prayer as something that forces God is illogical.

However, if we are supposed to love God how can we view anything in our relationship with him as something that forces his hand. Paul is clear that love does not insist on its way. Hence, if prayer actually did force God’s hand, the loving thing for us to do would be not to pray. But since Jesus commands us to pray at all times, prayer cannot be something that forces God’s hand.

Bible Verses Used by Prosperity Preachers

With that out of the way, let us look at a few of the bible verses that prosperity preachers use to support their position. We will see that these verses actually do not support the prosperity doctrine.

In her book, God’s Will Is Prosperity, Gloria Copeland writes, “Give $10 and receive $1,000; give $1,000 and receive $100,000. . . . In short, Mark 10:30 is a very good deal.” She refers to a part of Mark 10.30, where we read that those who follow Jesus will “receive a hundredfold now in this age.” However, let us consider the whole context. Verses 29 and 30 read, “Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the good news who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life.”

The hundredfold model really doesn’t work, does it? I mean, I may be eager to accept a hundred houses and may even be okay with having a hundred brothers and a hundred sisters. But what would it mean to have a hundred mothers? And believe me, I am quite happy with having just two daughters and do not want ninety-eight more. And how easy it is to ignore the inclusion of the part about persecutions. A hundredfold persecution? Sure why not? I mean it is easy to isolate a phrase, not even a sentence, from one verse of the bible. It is quite another thing to look at the whole context of the passage and take it consistently. This verse is used to support the ‘Law of Compensation’ but we can see that it does not.

Another verse that is often used to support the prosperity gospel is Luke 6.38, where we read, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap, for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” The preceding verse, however, is, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” In other words, at least from the immediate context of the preceding verse, it is clear that v. 38 is not about material possessions. Rather, the reciprocity concerns judgment and forgiveness.

Indeed, if we start the context in v. 27, we will see that the whole passage is about loving our enemies. If we love our enemies, we will forgive them, we will not judge them. And so when we shower them with our love through our forgiveness and non-condemning attitude, Jesus promises us we will receive what we gave others. 

Another verse used to encourage people to give lavishly to the prosperity preachers is Luke 18.12, where we read, “I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I get.” Of course, it is always good to check who is speaking and in what context. 

These are the words of the Pharisee in the parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector. In the parable, it is clear that the Pharisee is not the one who Jesus praises. When prosperity preachers use this to go against the absolutely clear teaching of Jesus, they reveal that they do not actually respect Jesus as a teacher.

Again, to encourage congregants to give, the prosperity preachers use Malachi 3.10, where we read, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.”

What the prosperity preachers fail to recognize is that the Malachi 3.10 was spoken in the context of the Mosaic law, during which the Levitical priesthood was active. The Levites were supposed to be devoted full time to the work of the tabernacle or temple. Hence, they could not hold down full time jobs and had to be supported by the people. But the prosperity preachers may say that they too work in the ministry full time and, hence, should be supported by the congregation. I fully support this. However, there is a standard of living that is reasonable and dignified. This does not involve living in mansions and owning private jets.

Another verse that the prosperity preachers use is James 4.2, which says, “You do not have because you do not ask.” First of all, this is only a small part of the verse. The entire verse and the preceding verse read, “Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it, so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it, so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have because you do not ask.” It is clear that James is addressing the issue of coveting, which quite obviously is not something he would encourage.

Indeed, if we read on, we would read, “You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.” So James is actually talking about just the kind of behavior that the prosperity preachers encourage. They want to gain more material wealth not because it could be used to spread the gospel but because it would enrich themselves. In other words, to be consistent in using James 4.2, the prosperity preachers would have to agree that they are those who fall in the category of people James describes in vv. 2 and 3 to say nothing of v. 4, where he says that such people are the enemies of God. We can see that what James says contradicts the idea that faith is a spiritual force.

Yet another verse used by prosperity preachers is 1 Corinthians 9. 11, where we read, “If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we harvest material things?” Let us make sense of this from the whole context. Paul is indeed saying that those who work in service of the gospel ought to be provided for by the ministry. However, his reason for raising this matter is precisely so that he could say, “Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.” (v. 12) In other words, by bringing up the issue of being supported by the congregation, Paul is actually saying that doing this positively hinders the gospel. 

That this is true is very clear. When you are being paid by the church, the church holds a lot of power over you. If you do not say what they want to hear, they can just dismiss you. Hence, you will always want to say things that are not very controversial so that your job is secure. This is a way of hindering the gospel. When the pastor is unable to be free to speak what he or she thinks is the word from God to a particular congregation, then the gospel gets subverted. Do you think an employee, which is what a pastor who is paid by the church is, would be able to write letters like 1 Corinthians to their employer? Absolutely not! 

What Paul is saying is that, while pastors can expect to be supported by their congregations, if the pastor hopes to be able to speak the truth to the congregation, then the support he/she receives from the congregation will itself be a hindrance to the speaking of that truth.

Yet another verse often used by prosperity preachers is 2 Corinthians 8.9, where we read, “For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” The conclusion is that, since Jesus became poor for our sake, we can expect to become rich.

Ironically, if you read vv. 1-15, you will realize that this comes in the context of Paul’s plea to the Corinthians to be generous in giving to others. Hence, in v. 12 he says, “For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.” Paul’s logic is that we cannot expect a poor person to give generously because he/she is in poverty. However, we can expect a rich person to give lavishly because he/she has more than enough and can spare a lot in order to be generous to others. Since, through Jesus, we have received generously from God, we should give generously to others. 

We have looked at seven verses commonly used by the prosperity preachers and have seen that none of them, taken in their proper context, support the prosperity teaching. To the contrary, all of them actually teach exactly the opposite of what the prosperity preachers tell us they teach. What the prosperity preachers rely on is the pervasive biblical illiteracy of the congregations. If the people only opened their bibles and read those verses in context, they would realize that they were being misled. Of course, it could be that the prosperity preachers are themselves biblically illiterate. I doubt it. I am more inclined to think they are intentionally misleading the people in their congregations.

Bible Verses about Suffering

Now let us move to verses that actually tell us positively that we should expect the opposite of what the prosperity preachers teach. In John 16.33, Jesus says, “In the world you face persecution.” Seems pretty straightforward. But let us read the whole verse and the verse before. Jesus says, “The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have said this to you so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution, but take courage: I have conquered the world!” 

In the context of their upcoming desertion of him, Jesus tells the disciples that opposition will be an ongoing fact of their lives as his disciples. But he does not promise to spare them from opposition. Rather, he reassures them by telling them that he has conquered the world. We will face opposition in the world. Jesus will not spare us from it. However, we are to derive courage in the face of opposition from the fact that he has proved himself victorious over the world. Our assurance does not derive from a false notion of having God rescue us from all difficult situations but from Jesus’ victory over the forces of evil.

In 1 Peter 3.17, Peter writes, “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil.” Peter entertains the idea that suffering may actually be God’s will for us. This flies in the face of all teaching that says that God will spare us from all suffering. Indeed, Peter follows this up with, “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God.” In other words, Peter draws a parallel between Jesus’ sufferings and ours with respect to God’s will. Peter is saying that, just as Jesus’ sufferings were a part of God’s plan, so also his plans may include our suffering. 

Later in 1 Peter 5.10, we read, “And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.” Somehow Peter seems to think that our suffering must precede our ultimate restoration. But the point is stronger because in vv. 7-9 he writes, “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.”

We are to cast our anxieties on Jesus because we know he cares for us. However, this does not mean that the devil will not prowl around us in the hopes of consuming us. But resisting him will result in suffering, just as it does for all the other faithful Christians around the world. What Peter is saying is that resisting the devil itself will result in the devil lashing out at us and causing suffering. The only way to get rid of such suffering would be to give in to the devil. Obviously Peter would not want us to do that. Hence, in the face of the suffering we endure on account of resisting the devil, Peter tells us to cast our anxieties onto Jesus.

In 2 Corinthians 4.17, Paul writes, “For our slight, momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure.” Paul introduces this with the words, “So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.” If things were going well for us, if we were materially prospering in everything we did, what would be the point of Paul saying that we do not lose heart. Humans are exceptionally resilient. For someone to reach a point of losing heart, it must be true that this person has faced setback after setback for many years. 

During these many years, Paul tells us that ‘our outer nature is wasting away’. As the years of setbacks roll on, we see our bodies grow old and waste away. And when we do not see any sign of deliverance in sight, we might be tempted to lose heart. Yet, Paul calls such long-lasting suffering ‘our slight, momentary affliction’. Mind you, he is talking about suffering that is intense enough and enduring enough to be able to make us lose heart. He is not talking about a fever that lasts a few days or a difficult coworker who troubles us for many years. He is talking about something that could make us despair when we see our decaying bodies.

Of course, in 2 Timothy 3.12, while writing to his protégé, Paul says, “Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” If we look at what came just before and what comes just after we will read, “What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived.” Paul is clear that he, as a man who wanted to live a godly life, was persecuted. While he also notes that Jesus rescued him, it is crucial to note that Jesus did not spare him from the persecutions, which he says will be something every godly person will face.

In Philippians 3.10, Paul says, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.” However, if we look at vv. 7-11, we will read, “Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

What is clear here is that Paul likens all gains other than knowing Jesus in his death and resurrection as garbage. He says that sharing in Jesus’ sufferings is the way of becoming like him in his death, which is what leads to the resurrection. Just as Jesus’ resurrection was preceded by his death, so also, according to Paul, our sufferings must precede our resurrection. In other words, there is no tasting the resurrection power that Paul mentions without also tasting sufferings. And since these sufferings are the only things that can make us like Jesus, Paul considers everything outside that knowledge as garbage.

In Mark 8.34-35, Jesus says, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.” Taking up the cross is not some quaint, nostalgic idea. Jesus was speaking within the context of the Roman empire. The only persons who carried a cross were convicts who had been sentenced to be crucified. They would carry their cross to the place where they would be stripped naked, having absolutely nothing to cover their shame, whereupon they would be nailed to the cross. Jesus’ image is clear. 

If we think that following him would never require us to actually experience the ultimate humiliation and shame or the excruciating pain and torment that crucifixion entailed, we have failed to understand Jesus’ call on our lives. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer declared, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Any other interpretation of this central call in Mark 8 treats Jesus’ own death as rubbish because the call comes right after Jesus first tells his disciples that he would suffer and be tortured and finally be put to death. The truth of the call on the disciples hangs on the truth of his understanding of his messianic vocation to suffer and die.

We have looked at seven verses that clearly indicate that suffering is not some undesirable, optional part of the Christian life, but rather a necessary and central aspect of discipleship to Jesus. Indeed, if we put them all together, what we can conclude is that anyone who wishes to have a life of material prosperity and without suffering is intentionally rejecting the means by which we are transformed to be like Jesus. Such a person is intentionally rejecting the call of Jesus and has chosen not to live a godly life. It is crucial to understand this, because, according to Jesus and the first apostles, persecution and suffering are an essential part of discipleship.

The Purpose of Suffering

But why is this so? What is the point of this suffering? Why does God allow us, and at times plan for us, to endure all kinds of untold suffering? In other words, what role does suffering play in our lives? I believe there are seven roles that suffering plays in our lives.

First, it helps us not to be afraid. When we suffer, our response as living creatures is to get tensed up. Our body enters the fight or flight mode in which we react like animals rather than as God’s images. However, when we realize that suffering does not extinguish our ability to image God, which is our primary vocation, we can learn to overcome the fear that would otherwise paralyze us.

Second, suffering helps us overcome the desire for vengeance. There are only two outcomes to suffering. We either die and enter the presence of God, where there is no place or desire for vengeance. Or we are rescued and realize that we do not need to attack those who caused us to suffer because God has worked to liberate us. In this way, suffering trains us to let go of the desire for vengeance. 

Third, suffering allows us to empathize with others. Once we let go of the desire to exact vengeance, we can allow ourselves to understand that even those who made us suffer are broken humans like we are. We can then attempt to understand the reasons for which they made us suffer. Since we are no longer desirous of exacting vengeance, we can approach the other person with a genuine desire to learn from him/her about his/her motivations for causing us to suffer. 

Fourth, suffering allows us to have a bigger perspective than ourselves. Once we understand that there are other perspectives, it allows us to see that our suffering is only a part of a whole. We can then understand how some messages can distort our understanding of each other – misunderstandings that often result in one party making the other suffer.

Fifth, suffering helps us to commit ourselves to God and the world. This is God’s good world. It is broken. But he loves it enough to send his unique Son for it. Since this world is broken, we cannot expect to have no suffering and still minister to a world that suffers. Those who excuse themselves from others’ pain cannot be healers. Suffering, then, allows us to understand that, since God is in the process of healing the world, we too must partner with him and work toward  that healing. Since, from our suffering and our ability to empathize with others, we know what kind of things cause people to suffer, we can commit to working against those suffering inducing things.

Sixth, suffering helps us to become like Jesus, as Paul says in Philippians 3. Since God’s goal is to conform us into the likeness of his Son, anything that enables us to become more like Jesus is to be appreciated. Suffering places us alongside Jesus and, therefore, allows us to understand the depths of his love for the world – a love that did not flee from the threat of suffering and death. 

Seventh, suffering helps us to prepare for the new creation. Mind you, our destiny as humans, as described in the last two chapters of Revelation, is to inhabit a vibrant thriving city that bustles with the riches and glory of all the nations of the earth.

In other words, Revelation presents us with a vision of the new creation that involves the political life of a large city. This means that in the new creation we will still have roles to fulfill. We will not be sitting on clouds and playing harps. Rather, as many of Jesus’ parables also indicate, there will be responsibilities to fulfill. Who will God entrust these responsibilities to? Will he give it to a person who has never faced any challenges and who, therefore, has not proved himself/herself under stressful conditions? Or will he give it to a person who, despite failing many times, has learned what causes people to suffer and who has developed the convictions to not cause people to suffer?

If you were given the responsibility of entrusting people with different tasks, who would you place in positions of greater responsibility? Would you entrust it to someone who has always got his/her way and who, therefore, expects always to get his/her way? Or will you entrust it to someone who has learned how to be content even when they have to give so that others can thrive. I think we all know what the answer is. 

Conclusion

To draw my talk to a close, let me summarize what we have covered. We first saw that the prosperity gospel is much like some very dangerous propaganda that needs to keep repeating its lies in order to be believed.

This is why every sermon at Joel Osteen’s church begins with the ‘This is my bible’ declaration while Mr. Osteen hardly ever actually opens the bible or reads from it. We then looked at seven verses that are often used by prosperity preachers and showed that each of those verses, when viewed through its larger context, actually teaches exactly the opposite of what the prosperity teachers teach. If I had more time, I could have looked at even more verses, such as Psalm 37.4, Jeremiah 29.11, John 14.14, Galatians 6.7, Philippians 4.13, and 3 John 1.2. All will make us reach the same conclusion. 

Then we looked at seven verses that teach us that suffering is something we should expect. Suffering is not something that is out of the ordinary experience of the people of God, but is an essential part of the experience of the people of God. Finally, we looked at seven roles that suffering plays in the lives of believers and we saw that the ultimate purpose of suffering is to make us more like Jesus so that we are qualified to be given responsibilities in the new creation. Hence, in the attempt to heal our perspective on suffering, I close with the words of the Sufi mystic and poet Rumi, who wrote, “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”