Mankind wants glory. We want health. We want wealth. We want happiness. We want all of our felt needs met, all our little human itches scratched. We want a painless life. We want the crown without the cross. We want the gain without the pain. We want the words of Christ’s salvation to be easy.
CHOKE!!! CHOKE!!! CHOKE!!! I say this is in all kindness but with candor: It really doesn’t matter what you think of John MacArthur and some of his teachings but YOU CANNOT ARGUE WITH THE TRUTH OF THAT STATEMENT! In fact, I am almost inclined to stop writing and just leave you with that quote from The Hole In Our Gospel (p.203) by Richard Stearns. Sad to say American Christians (of which I am one) have come to almost believe we are entitled to life on a silver platter. Don’t believe me? Check out the wave of health/wealth garbage that floods our airwaves with its putrid smell. Do you cringe whenever you read a story of a pastor or a Christ-follower who loses their home, their family, their income, even their life, because they have chosen to follow Jesus? I cringe then ask, “Could I stand the test? Could I go through years of torture and not break?” I would like to believe I could but I certainly can’t and won’t say I would.
The truth is: I have got it easy! Don’t get me wrong. I am grateful that God has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams. I am almost debt-free except for my house and one vehicle. I am blessed with fairly good health. I have a church community that is not rich by any stretch but does experience God’s blessings. I eat every day. I worship in freedom every week. But along with all those blessings comes some baggage…not baggage that God presents…but baggage that can encroach if I allow it. It is called entitlement. No, not government stuff. Entitlement. The idea that God owes me something. The idea that because I am a Christian God HAS to bless me. May I ask a simple question? Since when does God HAVE to do anything when it comes to material blessings? That, to be honest, is one of my “rubs” with the slimy televangelists that tell you “all you gotta do is tell God you want this and it is yours. Oh yeah, and while you are at it, slip me some also. God will bless that double.” There is a Hebrew word for that: hogwash.
We go from entitled to entrusted when we begin to see all that we have is a gift from God and it has been entrusted to us to use it for Kingdom purposes. The Scripture says, “God gives to all without finding fault.” I realize that is in answer to our prayers of faith (James 1), but let’s not live in such a way as to wonder if He regrets being so generous to us. Let me know what you think. I may have touched a nerve or two. Feel free to express your thoughts.
This post is part of the book discussion of The Hole In Our Gospel by Richard Stearns, hosted by Jason and Sarah. For more posts, please go to Jason’s blog.
So much of that quote describes me before I submitted myself to Christ. Sure, I believed in Him, I just didn’t want much to do with Him.
Bill, I imagine this chapter was a good one to read.
You make a good statement Michael. That should be pre-conversion/submission. But unfortunately, it is way too common after. Thanks for the comment.
Can I assume you don’t send monies to the televangelist ministries? They do seem to get carried away with the”ask and you shall receive”stuff. But it certainly makes for good business.
I agree Americans, Christian or otherwise, have become an overweight, self indulgent, undereducated lot.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with wanting to live comfortably. I just think there is something wrong if a person thinks they don’t have to participate in the process, as if it will just happen. I don’t think just praying is going to make much difference.
Jeff: you made me chuckle. Your assumption is correct! 😛 I agree with you that it is not wrong to want to live comfortably nor do I think we should feel entitled to it. I see this in young couples especially who want “right now” what mom & dad took years to accumulate so they go into enormous debt. Thanks for the good comment.
We want a Savior, clothed in unconditional love and forgiveness for our trespasses. We don’t want a LORD.
Big difference.
One comes to us in our tears and failings. The other comes to us as King, Master, Lord, and God.
I know I am saved from eternal death. Redeemed. Bought at a terrible price, one I shall never be able to pay back, despite my best efforts or intentions this side of Heaven. If I am not saved, if there is a loophole somewhere that I have missed or that Jesus didn’t reveal to me, then He is a liar and my faith is a joke. This is just not the case.
However, even though I sleep at night resting in His grace, mercy, and love, there is that flipside to the New Covenant which tells me, “Prepare yourself, son of God, because the veil has been lifted and now you are walking in My Kingdom. This is no rose garden.”
Savior. LORD. Who is Jesus, exactly?
My two cents.
Donald: pleading ignorance here since I wonder the connection to the post. Help an old man out. 😛
Bill, Sorry! I was speaking a bit obtuse, I fear.
Looking at MacArthur’s quote in and of itself, I was struck by the impression that people want the benefits of Jesus as Savior, but not the rule of Jesus as Lord.
That’s all. Sorry I didn’t clarify this better! 🙂
Gotcha. makes sense now. 🙂 Doesn’t take too much to get it through an old man’s head.
As I read through all the posts in the Book Discussion including my own, I realized something:
I am generous in recognizing it all belongs to God and in helping others, as long as it does not affect my comfortable lifestyle… In other words, I am quick to give out of my excess, but not so quick to sacrifice in order to give.
I need to work on that. Could it be that:
It is wrong for me to be comfortable while others are dying…
It is wrong for me to have unused excess when others lack basic necessities…
I have a lot of adjusting to do.
Dusty: I think you have made a good assessment. None of us want to “give up” the good life. as for giving out of the excess, I believe jesus even talked about that in the story of the widow’s mite. Thanks for making me think…I think. 🙂
2010 has been an unpleasant year for me and for our family. We have endured many trials with the health of my aging mother, my husband’s mental illness, our son’s struggles, and many unexpected changes in our lives. I found myself feeling like Christ owed me a better life than what I was experiencing because I had done so much for Him. Really?? I had done so much for Him? This post reminds me that Christ has indeed blessed me beyond what I deserve. I am not entitled to anything from Him no matter what I do or don’t do. It is by grace that I am forgiven. Works won’t cut it. I must serve Him out of love and not to avoid pain. I am actually beginning to think that the more I serve Him, the more likely Satan is to attack. I am hoping and praying for a better 2011. If it is not better, I will continue to hold fast to Him.
Pamela: thanks for your honesty. I know sometimes it can seem overwhelming for us and that “old man’s thoughts” creep in. So glad that you know you are forgiven by God’s grace and continue to be a recipient of it. Hoping to see you some in 2011. Give my love to all. Thanks for the comment.
Fact one: we’re sinful people. Fact two: the most obvious expression of our sinfulness is our selfishness. Much of it is couched in “you gotta do what you gotta do.” Fact three: most of us only accept salvation because we’re convinced that we will probably go to hell if we don’t.
My conclusion is this – most of us only come to Christ because of what’s in it for us. Most people only tithe because they are afraid that God won’t bless them if they don’t. Most who propose that we need to “submit to the Lordship of Christ” only do so because they see that as the true way to “get salvation” or to “find true peace”, both of which, let’s admit it, are expressions of a selfish motive.
Prosperity doctrine feeds on our selfishness. It takes our desire to help ourselves and makes it profitable for someone else.
Strict fundamentalism controls its followers by using their selfish desire to “truly be saved”. Strict Calvinistic Lordship teaching follows the same path but in a slightly different way. They both make people conform to some certain standard by threatening them with hell if they do not conform. Fundamentalism insists on a certain outward appearance, while strict Calvinism insists that only by agreeing with a certain set of beliefs are we truly saved.
My point is that none of these things make sense without preying on the selfish desires of the sinner, or even the saint. If the sinner isn’t selfishly concerned with their own eternal state – burn in hell versus NOT burn in hell – they will never come to Christ in the first place.
We’re all very selfishly motivated. We seek OUR peace.
How on earth to get beyond it I don’t know.
I hope this one is connected with the post, Bill. Sorry if I’ve wandered.
Bernard: you are absolutely 100% on the money (pun intended). You have summed up both sides of the coin in a very good nutshell. The prosperity doctrine definitely feeds on our selfishness. And your assessment of fundamentalism and Calvinism is correct. Too often is an either/or thing. Dude, you nailed it big time! Thanks for a great comment.
Wow…where do I begin to comment on this one.
“Since when does God HAVE to do anything when it comes to material blessings?”
I’ll just go with this quote because it’s one that is related to a lesson I’ve learned the hard way. When I lost almost all my material possessions in 2005 in a fire, I learned how material things can be such a curse to us. Most of the problems in my life right now relate to “stuff.” If we can ever get to the point that “stuff” is really irrelevant it can really change the way we live.
Jason: you have and are learning the lesson many of us have to learn…stuff is just that…stuff. May we come to see that stuff is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Thanks for the input.
I appreciate your commanding grasp of Hebrew. 🙂 I agree with you, but I also know that we can swing to the opposite end of the pendulum and believe God is aloof and doesn’t care. You’re right, it’s not that He has to bless me, but He does choose to bless me because I’m His son and He loves me. It may not look like what I think it should and has nothing to do with materialism, but the question always stands, what am I doing with what I’m given?
Great thoughts, Bill. Love the discussion you’ve got here.
jason: I know we have to be careful not to swing the pendulum the other way. We can lose all sense of a big God who is intimately acquainted with us and our needs. Thanks for adding to the discussion my friend.
Hi Bill,
What is it that we owe God except to love the Lord our God with all our heart and to walk humbly with Him? This is the path of life as I see it in the scriptures. Our heart and devotion is the only thing we have to offer God. Other than that we are poor and needy.
I do believe that we should be conscious of what we have and be thankful to God. Our part of the world has been blessed. I believe this has happened because of our Christian foundation and godly roots in our respective countries of Canada and the USA. Currently both of our nations are leaving Christianity and embracing every bed and lover that comes along.
I believe we have some responsibility where we have some control. I can’t control corrupt and evil government in other countries. I send money and it often gets into hands of corruption and greed. What I can control is my daily dealings and interactions with people and the world.
Godliness is the answer to our world’s problems. That’s why I have some scepticism about social action. We’re often fighting flesh with flesh in that circumstance. Small changes do occur but in the end evil again gains ground where we least expect it. In our own strength our enemy is too strong for us.
Anyone who tries to put the weight of the world on my shoulders is going to get some resistance from me. Nothing in the New Testament suggests to me that that’s my purpose for being here. My purpose here on the earth is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. To learn of Him, to walk with Him, to enter into his rest and victory and to teach others to do the same. Just some thoughts again.
Linda: Can’t argue with what you have said. we are not here to solve the world’s woes. We are here to be a disciple and that may mean getting involved in people’s lives but not at the expense of the gospel. Thanks for the comment.
Ah, entitlement is such a slippery slope. How do we find the balance when we are told that we are “seated together with Christ” (Eph 2:6) and “sons and heirs” of the kingdom (Gal. 4:7)?
I don’t believe we should live with our tail between our legs and eyes down just waiting on scraps God for us like some pitiful servants. I also don’t believe we have the right to make selfish demands.
I believe when we have a right view of our identity as sons of the King and our place of being seated together with Christ, that intimacy will cause us to “abide”. Then when we abide in Christ, we know His heart. THEN…whatever we ask, He will give us because He already wants it. It will bless His children and bring Him glory.
You bring out an excellent point tony. By entitlement I mean those things that we think we are entitled to just because. Sort of like government handouts only spiritual ones with God. “I am Your child so I deserve…” I do see your point that we are children of the King and should live with our eyes up. but it comes down to identity not demands. Thanks for the great thought.