PICTURES of Joel Osteen’s 10.5 Million Dollar River Oaks Mansion

In July of 2010 I posted here that Joel and Victoria Osteen moved into a 10.5 million dollar mansion in Houstons most exclusive and richest subdivision. The post I made contains information stating that the Osteens kept their 2.6 million dollar Tanglewood mansion and will be paying at least 260,000$ in property taxes per year on the new 10.5 million dollar masion. We have gotten many hits to that post by people who where looking for pictures of the new Osteen Mansion. Yesterday I found the following video that contains pictures of the new Osteen estate. The 3 pictures in this video come from this site and there are actually 4 pictures available if you will go to the site and click on the link at the bottom. I also suggest going to the site because the authors commentary is much better than mine. Here are some comments on the video at YouTube.

So a person who sings about ho’s drugs and bit**** can be rich,,, A guy that can hit a baseball can be rich,,, a women with big bo*** and a loud mouth who gets on tv with her sisters ij a reality show can be rich,,,, but a person who makes it his calling to help people out through religion cant have anything. No one is twisting peoples arms to list5en to him or donate money any more then they are twisting peoples arms to buy tickets to a concert, movie or baseball game,

AND

Amen. I have told people that all the time. Rock stars and celebrities and those living for the devil are allowed to have nice homes, but if a preacher has a nice home, all hell breaks lose!

To hear comments like this really breaks my heart because it seems that many Christians are not aware that the Old Testamant repeatedly asks and answers the question of why the wicked seem to prosper. Here is an entire Psalm that confronts this issue.

Psalm 73 (ESV) – A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.

Please notice here that Asaph almost slipped and stumbled because he was envious of the prosperity of the wicked and in the end he concludes that the wicked will have their best lifes now. Asaph recovers from his envy when he realizes that having God is all that matters and after this life he will be recieved into glory while the wicked are set upon slippery places that make them fall into ruin. Many other passages like Job 21:16-34; Psa. 37:1-17 and Luke 12:16-21 show that while the wicked might prosper in this life and have their “best life now”, it is the Godly that prosper for eternity while the wicked are set to eternal destruction.

Rock stars, rappers, celebrities, baseball players and playboy centerfold models are not Gods representatives here on earth as Joel is supposed to be (Christians should not try to emulate them; even Osteen should not). Neither do they say “I can’t be a blessing to others if I am poor” as Osteen recently said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. That is just an absurd statement, as if all blessings have to come from money and are material. How about being a blessing and telling unbelievers they will suffer in hell if they do not believe in the one and only Savior. And how about telling those who do claim Christ that they need to repent of their sin, even their sin of coveting the wickeds prosperity.

Well if Osteens goal is really to be a material blessing to others just think how many water wells could be dug in arid climates in poor countries with 10.5 million. Think about how many homeless people could be clothed and fed with 10.5 million. How many hungry children could be sponsored through Compassion International.

Osteen could have very well have stayed in his 2.6 million dollar mansion and gave the 10.5 million to charitiable causes. Most baseball stars have their foundations to help the needy, is Joel excused from using his personal money to help the poor because LakeWood Church does charitable work?

He could have very well kept his previous 200, 000$ a year salary from Lakewood, given the church the royalty rights to his writings or started a charitable foundation in his name and still VERY easily paid the taxes and up-keep of his 2.6 million dollar TangelWood mansion; which meets the criteria for the last commenters idea of a “nice home” (imagine that – it takes 10.5 million to have a “nice home”).

It seems that if Osteen has a “calling to help people out through religion” he would be doing these things because even the wicked help people out with mere money and material things.

Now am I suggesting that God wants and the bible teaches that Christians should be poor? NO I AM NOT!!! Here is a comment we got when we first opened this Blog.

“Hello, Damon. Since you clearly don’t want comments that say anything nice about the guys you’re against, I won’t say anything. But I have to ask you SERIOUSLY your personal opinion or what you think the Bible says about the issue… Perhaps God doesn’t necassarily want ALL believers to be BILLIONARES. But… Do you really think that as Christians, the only things we’re worthy of having (in God’s eyes) are the SAME things non-believers have or LESS than what non-believers have??? In other words, why would God ask believers to engage in things completely outside the realm of what the rest of the world is doing, then expect those SAME people to eat mud pies for dinner, AND LIKE IT?????? Again, are you saying that the God we serve is a “turn the other cheek & eat hambergers for dinner & thank me for it” type of God, while the person that slapped you is laughing with his friends about it & eating steak & has NOTHING to do with God??? Honestly, if God is going to contrast the size of our wallet to whether we love & trust in him, then perhaps it’s not us who are putting stock in money, maybe it’s really God! OK, but that sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it??? But equally ridiculous? The notion that God wants, condones, or commands that all believers be LESS than “the world” even if the subject IS MONEY!!! Be HONEST… Do you want to serve a God that “sees” you as not being worthy to have a house BIGGER than a person who OUTWORDLY MOCKS GOD???? – Thanks”

Please see how I responded in this video and article. Does God want us to be rich and have a BIG HOUSE? THIS WORLD IS NOT OUR HOME!!!

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