Yesterday, I indulged in a Facebook tirade regarding the dumbing-down of the Church. It used to boast the most educated people in the world. Back when the average man was illiterate and spent all day trying to feed his family with his small, private farm, there wasn't any time to memorize history, observe the stars, or sit and meditate on the Truths of Scripture.
By contrast, members of the Clergy were given the rare opportunity to stretch their minds, and they took their jobs as scholars very seriously.
But, today, most Christians are no more familiar with the precepts of Scripture than their ancestors who couldn't read. We are content with slogans and churchy sayings, which offer just enough truth to whet our pallet--while our souls shrivel from malnourishment.
As I said yesterday, we have a form of godliness, but our version of Christianity boils down to several cutesy, Christian mottoes, which often contradict each other...and Scripture.
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"God looks at the heart." "Don't hurt your testimony!" "I've been given a vision." "I'm loved just the way I am." "I'm under attack." (Which gives people with the "gift of encouragement" a chance to say: "All things work together for good!") "We need to reach people for Jesus," which becomes even more popular during costly expansion projects. etc. etc.
If we've heard these statements launched from a pulpit, we don't even care what the context is. He's a preacher, so it must be Gospel truth. Plus, the catchphrases are easier to manage and much less likely to choke us than Scripture that hasn't been pre-chewed for us.
So we use them to build our entire theology.
But how many Christians even know where to find the Big Kid version of these cliches in the Bible? For as much as we quote them--do we even consider what we mean by them?
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Today, I'm putting one Cutesy Christian Motto under the microscope, and I may tackle a few more in the future. Let's ask ourselves, what do we mean when we say "God bless ____"
First, a true story. When I was born, my Grandpa Bob purchased a savings bond for each of my birthdays and Christmases until I was 18 years old. That's 36 bonds! He reasoned they would be mature by the time I went to college, and education was very important to him.
You may think, "Wow, that's a really nice gift!"--and you're right. But can you imagine my reaction as a small child, getting an envelope every time I saw him?
"Hmmm...I wonder what this is. Oh, wow! Another yellow piece of paper with a face on it. Gee, thanks." (*goes back to playing with the good presents.*)
My mom really tried explaining that I would appreciate it when I was older. But a child's definition of "valuable" is much different from an adult's. I just didn't understand.
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Jump back to Christians asking God to "bless them"--and even saying "God wants to bless us"--presumably referring to Matthew 7:9-11. "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If
you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"
And those verses mean, of course, that God wants to give me gifts! Good gifts! ...Right?
But what if God's definition of a "blessing" is different from ours? What if God's gifts are good, yet often disappointing like a savings bond to a 10-year-old?
Want some reason to adopt my theory? Jesus talks about blessings in a chunk of his Sermon on the Mount, and He says blessed are the poor in spirit...blessed are those who mourn...blessed are you, when you get insulted.
I doubt these are what we have in mind, when we pray for a "blessed day."
Also, I think a better understanding of the term "blessing" would help us make more sense of things when faced with real, character-testing trials. So many Christians expect God to shower them with "good gifts," or to at least protect them from harm. Then they find themselves in heart-wrenching trouble, and no amount of pleading for help seems to work. What gives?
If we only prepare for the human definition of "blessings"--what do we tell the lady whose cancer has returned for the third time? She's not praying right? God doesn't want to bless her? When we're just waiting for God to throw open the storehouses of Heaven in our favor, what do we tell the mothers who sent their kindergarteners off to school and never saw them alive again?...
"The storehouse door is jammed."
"Think positive."
"You're just under attack at the moment...but get ready for a blessing!"
No. These sound ridiculous because they are hollowed-out versions of God's Word. And if your beliefs about God don't hold up when tragedy strikes--if they're only true sometimes--then they aren't true at all.
We prepare ourselves for "God-sized" blessings, and then get shocked when there's no pony under the tree. Not to mention, we must actively ignore the Scriptures where Paul, Peter, and James warn us to expect suffering and rejoice over it. We've forgotten His ways are not our own...
Look, I realize this is a complicated subject, and I don't mean to imply I've arrived at total understanding. But, I'm saying, we can't stand on the motto "God wants to bless us" insofar as it means "God wants to put a smile on our faces" because that theology doesn't stand up to real life. We have to find a way to reconcile all of the Scriptures together, instead of clinging to the snippets that make us feel good for a moment.
I think we need a grown-up definition of "blessing"...one that recognizes we're blessed to have a God who works tirelessly to make us holy. When we tell ourselves His first priority is our happiness, then suffering makes no sense. If we tell ourselves we just have to be patient and think positive because the good stuff is right around the corner, we're sunk when the corner never comes. What if we never get the stuff we want? Is God still good? Did He forget to bless us?
Or is it possible the trials and sufferings are themselves the blessing we request so often without thinking?
(Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ ...you are blessed. --From 1 Peter 4)
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Do you agree that "God wants to bless us" is an example of oversimplified, paper-thin doctrine that tends to crumble under scrutiny? Can you think of other Christianese sayings which send a thrill through the congregation on Sunday morning, but prove ambiguous (or even completely *wrong*) when tested in real life?
Yes, I agree with your assertion. Actually, I more than completely agree with it. Every time I hear that "God wants to bless us," it reminds me of "Claiming the promises God has for us in scripture," as if we are to so easily discern and quote promises from anywhere else.
ReplyDelete"It's not your money anyways. It's all God's." (So just go on and slip it into the plate before you think about it.) - I hear this regardless of the church I attend, yet no pastor seems to recall Jesus saying "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's,"...that is, that which has his image on it....,"and render unto God that which is God's." So whatever my two pesos are worth, this guilt-tithing perpetuated by the pastors is completely wrong.
A. The love of money entails not only desiring money above all else, but believing that giving it is the ultimate form of love (i.e. stimulus packages, fundraisers, tax-exemptions). This essentially equates money to love. (Isn't God equated to love in the Bible?)
B. The image(s) on the U.S. Dollar bill all lead to historical figures nominally praised by the federal government, NOT GOD.
C. Only products made by nature and harvested by man for profit, as found in the Bible, are commanded to be tithed (meat and produce) for the purpose of feeding the poor - not giving them 19th century electronics or saving them money to spend on booze.
D. Churches tie the faithful tither to overabundant "blessings" from God. They completely ignore the fact that the people were already good businessmen by nature, or statesmen who received gifts and taxes, whether they gave or not.
Z. I find that considering money and faith, beyond and including the points above, a simple saying that "It's all God's," and "He works in mysterious ways," and "all things work together for the good of those who love him;" - They don't need to be taught outright, as lifting principles out of Biblical context naturally pervert otherwise God-given common sense. - Those sayings provide the opportunities to:
1. Redefine who's God, in all practicality (Mammon or $ & the governments/kings of the world).
2. Use the Bible to pull a Jedi mind-trick in adding to the already hidden-in-plain-sight disclaimer that the US Dollar is good for all debts public and private - debts, you know, like taxes. In other words, useless for solving church problems.
3. They turn the altar/sanctuary/gathering place into a slot machine.
Your very first point is my favorite. "The love of money entails not only desiring money above all else, but also believing that giving it is the ultimate form of love." That's a great insight!
DeleteMeanwhile, I think it's important to point out some people don't expect *monetary* blessings, but they expect other earthly ones (which is just as wrong). Some people's idea of blessing is physical healing. After all, "God wants me to be healthy!" Some expect relational healing because, "God wants my family to be intact!" There are plenty of ways we've run with this (false) idea that Christ died to buy freedom from everything I don't like.
It's a tough pill to swallow, but a Christian is someone who has agreed to die. Our common goal is not to become happy, but to become more like Jesus. THAT'S what God wants for us. Unfortunately for those who don't want to suffer, JESUS suffered.
Drop by anytime, Other!