BLESSED OR SPOILED?
As we approach Thanksgiving, the
topic of blessing comes to my mind. In the South, it is common to hear phrases
such as, “Bless your heart,” or, “God has blessed us.” The question I would
like to answer though is this: as a nation, are we blessed or spoiled?
Certainly, it could be both, or it could be one or the other. As a minister of
the gospel, I believe God has opened my eyes to some elements of American
Christianity that are antithetical to the gospel. My answer to the question
then is that we are spoiled. I mention this with an overall picture in mind so
this is not to say that every single Christian in the United States of America
lives a spoiled lifestyle, but largely, we do. I have four overarching thoughts
to support this notion.
The Gospel Never
Promises Prosperity but Perseverance
A common thought among American
Christians is that we have prospered because we have honored God. This usually
refers to financial prosperity. I would not deny the realm of possibility here,
but financial prosperity could also come through evil so it could be unrelated
to Christian values. The gospel never promises (financial) prosperity so we
should not assume that financial prosperity is the result of honoring God. This
thought perpetuates the false idea that God always financially blesses those
who honor him. The truth is that we are called to honor him whether we receive
anything in return or not, and often, we do not. The gospel presents a message
of perseverance and an unwavering joy in Jesus Christ in the face of incredible
hardship. Consider people you know who are both rich and poor. It does not take
long to realize that many God-honoring people are poor and many who practice
constant evil are wealthy. Financial gain is not promised for honoring God so
we should not assume that the United States has been financially blessed solely
on the basis of morality. Although many of our founders possessed an incredible
zeal for God, our financial prosperity could, in fact, be coincidental, i.e.
the two should not be explicitly linked.
The United States
of America Is Not God’s Chosen Nation
I commonly hear believers make
feeble attempts to apply Old Testament scriptures which clearly speak of Israel
in precise contexts to the United States, e.g. Jeremiah 29:11.[1] The
United States is not God’s chosen nation. I recently heard someone say that the
United States is undeniably the greatest nation in the history of the world. I
would beg to differ regarding the deniability of that statement, but let’s
suppose that is correct; it is certainly not because we are God’s chosen
people. We have never been and never will be God’s chosen nation, although
there are likely many within our great nation who are now grafted into the
chosen and holy nation of God. Keeping in mind that we are just a nation like
any other in the eyes of God will help us live humbly. I doubt our founders had
a prideful existence in mind, especially those who desired to honor God. We who
honor God receive the blessing of joy in Christ, not the blessing of financial
gain alone. The United States is not God’s chosen nation.
Jesus Did Not Die
for the American Dream
A shared belief among many American
Christians is that the American dream is somehow a holy item to aspire to. We
must remember that Jesus did not die for the American dream and really does not
care about it. We should aspire to glorify the Father through the Son and in
the power of the Spirit. In many ways, an aspiration to the American dream is
not only selfish but also antithetical to a gospel that is solely about Jesus
Christ. What if God’s plan for your life is to die as a martyr? What if it is
to live in poverty and serve him faithfully bringing many to salvation in
Christ? Is it so far-fetched to think that it might be? If we live our lives
pursuing the American dream and comfort, we have essentially wasted our time
here.
It Is Possible to
Live a Good Moral and Successful Life and Still Waste It
Connected to the previous thought,
it is possible to live a good and moral life, raise a family in the church,
have a good reputation among a local community, and achieve great success yet
still waste one’s life. This occurs when Christ is thought of as a therapeutic
deity who makes us better while we try to achieve our goals in life rather than
the very point of existence in this life. If we all thought of Christ in the
latter way, I believe more radical decisions would be made and more believers
would sacrifice a life of comfort for a life of service. American Christianity
has become an enterprise when it should have always been a way of life centered
around the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus is not the cool person who
makes us feel better about how good our lives are, but he is a radical and
life-changing person who calls us to risk our very lives for his sake. If we
think of Christ as an important aspect of our lives rather than the very point
of life, we are living spoiled rather than blessed.
We Passed Blessed
Long Ago
In short, American Christianity has
become an enterprise largely opposed to the gospel. Our great financial success
has, in many ways, contributed to our spiritual blindness; we think it’s all
about us when it surely is not. God certainly gives his people good and perfect
gifts. Nevertheless, material rewards are not promised to God’s people. Why
then do we assume that the United States has received material and financial
reward because we have honored God? Our financial gain could be based merely on
hard work, which is not godliness in and of itself. The truth is that we passed
blessed long ago and have been spoiled for quite some time. Our country’s
churches control 75% of the global church’s wealth; yet, our churches are
deteriorating while closed and persecuted countries’ churches are rapidly
expanding. What is the difference? It is a genuine faith that does not look to
God as a genie but rather as a covenant God who redeems and restores his
people.
As we approach thanksgiving, it is certainly right to give
God thanks for any material and financial gifts he has given. We must, however,
not neglect to remember that we should honor God irrespective of those material
possessions and that our ultimate reason for thanksgiving is his covenant with
us, which we, in no way, deserve. With that said, let us give thanks to God.
[1] For I know the plans I have for you,
declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a
hope.
