Here’s the great thing about scripture, following Christ, and God’s promises. It all fits together. It has to. Lest my last post be interpreted as me being a prosperity message-basher… at its heart - where it has its base in scripture, I think I beleive in God’s promises of prosperity more than most who follow the “popular” version of the prosperity message.
The concept of happiness and success ensuing from a devotion to a cause larger than oneself rings true on a spiritual level. It does because it is consistent with scripture. We have a job to do, much is expected of us. Why? I beleive that is clear as well. Because in doing what is expected of us - truly following Christ - happines and success (i.e. prosperity) will naturally ensue. God promised that it would. That He would do His job - protect, bless, prosper our every step. Here’s where I think I believe that more than the name-it-and-claim-it proponents.
I don’t have to name it. I don’t have to claim it. God promised it. And He never told me I have to go out and grab it. That I have to somehow wrestle it out of him by demanding it long enough and loudly enough. I believe He’s true to His Word. He said He’d do it for me. That’s good enough for me. I can let go of what I want and trust Him for the desires of my heart and meeting of all my needs because I really believe He’s all powerful, He loves me, and He promised it. So I trust Him to provide all of that.
I have a teenage son (almost - will be this December, but trust me - he’s already got the emotional swing thing down). Let’s just put out a hypothetical that I want him to be succesful, content, happy, and blessed more than anything else. So I tell him that, and promise that I’ll put everything I have into an effort to get him there. So the next day he presents me with a list: a new car, $100,000 to start his savings account, 60” flat screen for his room, big career at my firm… and yeah, he’d like it all tomorrow. Then he demands that list of items every day… after day… after day. How would I feel about that? For those of you who know me, you know the answer. I’d open a can of you-know-what on him. That attitude is self-centered, ungrateful, and lacks a core trust in me - a trust that I know better than he does what is really good for him, and that I will actually follow through on my promise without being badgered… we would all recognize the flawed heart behind that attitude in our kids.
Ok, live and let live, right? Why be upset by the other mindframe in the prosperity message? First, I believe that Frankl is right. The more we set our minds on grasping at what you want, the more it will elude us - particularly if we want contentment and happiness. And I want Christians to live in contentment, happiness, and true prosperity. I really, really want that. For us to be at peace, content, living life in a way that clearly - clearly - shows the world they need and are searching for what we already have. So I don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, because we not only should be - we must be - blessed, content, and full of real prosperity to fulfill our calling. But I think we really need to get this right or it will do more harm than good. I think God’s promises of prosperity are among the most beautiful and true (as all scripture is) revelations of God’s tenderhearted love for us. I love them, and I love what they tell me about Him. I just think our response should be to respect and trust Him to follow through, while we focus on doing what He told us to do.
Posted by Jim at 07:35 PM. Filed under: Jim's Existential Ramblings •
