Award-winning filmmaker Leila Djansi has once again waded into the sensitive terrain of faith and prosperity, using her platform to challenge the foundations of what many Christians have been taught about blessings and wealth.
According to Djansi, the idea of “passive faith” has crippled believers, keeping them waiting for miracles while neglecting the very principles that drive progress.
She referred to this mindset as “sanctified waiting” or the lazy mantra, “God will provide,” adding that even Abraham prepared the firewood before receiving his blessing.
Djansi dismantled the popular notion that wealth automatically reflects divine favor, especially when linked to giving in church.
She questioned the fairness of suggesting that prosperity is simply the reward of donations to pastors or church projects, pointing out that many poor congregants give consistently but remain in hardship.
“Any wealthy person who says they are blessed because they gave money to the church is not telling you the whole story,” she argued.
“What about the poor in the same church? Do they not give? Is God that unjust, unfaithful, and unfair?”
Instead, Djansi stressed that wealth creation is largely tied to principles—discipline, diligence, and strategy.
She cited examples of global innovators and entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos, Rockefeller, and tech pioneers who achieved extraordinary success without tithing or sowing into pastors’ lives.
To her, the prosperity gospel often functions more as “bribery and idolatry” than true faith. She recounted how some pastors openly accept ill-gotten wealth and even “pray over it” to bless the giver’s schemes.
“People are bribing pastors to bless their scheming, thinking they are manipulating God,” Djansi remarked.
While she clarified that she is not against supporting pastors or church projects, she warned that neglecting the hungry and vulnerable in favor of showering wealth on already-comfortable leaders is a betrayal of faith’s true call. She urged Christians to reexamine the words of Christ, particularly about serving children and the needy.
Djansi concluded with a practical roadmap: prosperity comes from faith in one’s calling and the relentless pursuit of diligence not from transactional giving.
“Do not let anyone make you doubt God because you are giving your best but seeing nothing,” she said, pointing to biblical passages like Matthew 25:14–30 that emphasize stewardship over empty ritual.
