Most Christians that I know can see the flaw in the “prosperity gospel,” the idea that God intends to bless Christians with material wealth here on earth. In the same way, they recognize it’s close cousin, the “health and wealth” gospel. It doesn’t take a lot of reading in the New Testament to recognize that following Christ is not about always receiving the things we want in this life.
I think there’s another close relative of those false teachings that often slips in unawares. It has several variations:
(1) God’s will is that people live in a democracy. You’d think we wouldn’t have trouble spotting that one, since we can look at the government that God set up in the Old Testament and quickly see that it wasn’t a democracy. However, I still hear people pray that God will bring democracy to certain countries of the world. They need Christianity; they may or may not need democracy.
(2) Christians must do whatever it takes to preserve our religious freedoms/prosperity/liberty/…. Sorry, but those things, nice though they are, were not promised to us by God. Actually, the Bible talks a lot about the Christian life being a life of suffering. Not always what we want to hear, but it’s what the Bible says.
(3) God wants us to be good citizens/patriotic/defenders of our country. OK, I’ve talked enough about that one. But it still rears its ugly head from time to time. Whether we like it or not, the continuing existence of any earthly nation is not our top priority. Our faithfulness to the kingdom of God trumps the existence of the United States.
Just as God hasn’t promised us health and wealth, he hasn’t promised us the privilege of living with religious freedom. Our job is not to work to preserve those freedoms; our job is to promote the kingdom of God.
[photo by Bill Davenport, sxc.hu]
Interesting and thought provoking article this morning!
Thanks for helping us to regain our focus!
Thanks Chris. Thinking needs to be provoked at times.
Grace and peace,
Tim
Nicely put. We have very similar thoughts on the topics. I fear we sometimes substitute nationalism for godliness. I am reminded of Bob Dylan’s “With God On Our Side”
“prosperity gospel,” “health and wealth” gospel. False doctrines ? I don’t think so, maybe outdated doctrines if there is such a thing. We only need to read the book of Job, or read the story of Abraham, to see just where this belief comes from, Who knows what would happen if we had the faith of Job or Abraham?
Does God want us to live in a democracy? Well according to
Josephus Flavius the government of the Jews was a theocracy.
Josephus understood theocracy as a fourth form of government in which only God and his law is sovereign. So if Josephus was right, did Jesus not allow us our independents a choice to pursue our own way, right or wrong. This democracy we live in just might be the reason we don’t receive the reward of “Health and Wealth”
What kind of a government would it be, we could use the bible for a law book, but nobody agrees on what it says.
I understand that it’s hard for people who grew up in patriotic families, who saw a nation come together when it was threatened by war; but I still lean more towards your way of thinking — that our government is not the avenue to Christian living.
Carl, thanks for the comment. Think it’s your first time in the kitchen… welcome!
Laymond,
I think that the Bible shows that God planned on being Israel’s king, but his people chose otherwise.
Lisa,
I think we need to be sensitive to the emotionalism that is in inherent in issues like this, and I’ve frequently been guilty of insensitivity in that area. Somehow, though, people need to see the role those emotions play in their opinions about such issues.
Grace and peace,
Tim
Well done, Tim. I think you nailed it.
ME
Thanks Mark.
Very good thoughts! I would agree with the necessity of being good citizens to some extent, though. God wants us to obey the laws (to the extent possible without displeasing him) and to pray for the government. However, I recognize that you are saying something beyond that; and you are right that we are not called to defend everything our countries stand for, or fight for, or value. Thanks for sharing these thoughts!
Terry,
I’ve argued at other times, in this blog and in other venues, that instead of seeing ourselves as “good citizens,” we need to learn to see ourselves as “good aliens.” Good aliens are expected to obey laws, they will be respectful, etc. But they never lose sight of the fact that they aren’t like everybody else, they are living in a place that is not their home. Instead of good citizens, Christians should strive to live as good aliens.
Grace and peace,
Tim Archer
Tim, wouldn’t “extraterrestrial” be a better description of how you see a Christian?
Good point, Tim. I had not read your previous posts. Now that I think about it, you are right. That is how Peter and the other early Christians saw themselves, and it’s how we should too. Thanks for the insight!
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