now, back to what I was gonna say...
Sep. 27th, 2006 04:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
acresofhopeSince I've calmed down a little about my face, I think I'll do some ranting on something that might actually be important.
For those of you who don't know, most days around noon (or something like that), The 700 Club is playing on the TV in the living room. Who exactly it is that watches it, I'm not really sure. Maybe my dad just doesn't switch the channel. Anyway, I used to enjoy watching it myself, and sometimes, I still do. But something's been bugging me lately: all the talk about 'blessings'.
It seems like it's all I ever hear, not just from that show, but everywhere. "Do _______ and God will bless you." "Give and it will be given to you x-fold." And on and on. It's not that it's not true, or that we shouldn't want God to bless us, because I think God Himself wants to do that. It just seems like a bunch of prosperity who-ha. The way it's presented, it's like they're telling you to give so that you'll be given more. I don't think that's at all what God meant. You're supposed to give to help others and because you trust God to take care of you, not because God's gonna make you rich if you do. I mean, I think back to something a young preacher told the college students about, how the people on the other side of the world who are being persecuted who hear America preachers and ask if they don't have enough faith because they aren't rolling in wealth.
I feel like the entirety of Christianity has gone insane. I understand the church can't be perfect, because it is made up of imperfect people, but shouldn't it be better than this? Shouldn't this be a love story and not a business meeting?
*sigh*
I need to change clothes. I have to go check on a job at the building called "First Baptist Church".
For those of you who don't know, most days around noon (or something like that), The 700 Club is playing on the TV in the living room. Who exactly it is that watches it, I'm not really sure. Maybe my dad just doesn't switch the channel. Anyway, I used to enjoy watching it myself, and sometimes, I still do. But something's been bugging me lately: all the talk about 'blessings'.
It seems like it's all I ever hear, not just from that show, but everywhere. "Do _______ and God will bless you." "Give and it will be given to you x-fold." And on and on. It's not that it's not true, or that we shouldn't want God to bless us, because I think God Himself wants to do that. It just seems like a bunch of prosperity who-ha. The way it's presented, it's like they're telling you to give so that you'll be given more. I don't think that's at all what God meant. You're supposed to give to help others and because you trust God to take care of you, not because God's gonna make you rich if you do. I mean, I think back to something a young preacher told the college students about, how the people on the other side of the world who are being persecuted who hear America preachers and ask if they don't have enough faith because they aren't rolling in wealth.
I feel like the entirety of Christianity has gone insane. I understand the church can't be perfect, because it is made up of imperfect people, but shouldn't it be better than this? Shouldn't this be a love story and not a business meeting?
*sigh*
I need to change clothes. I have to go check on a job at the building called "First Baptist Church".
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no subject
Date: 2006-09-27 11:49 pm (UTC)I know exactly what you're talking about, I've seen them myself. But I think that the reason these preachers are so adamently pounding out their messages of prosperity is that SO MANY Christians are completely blind to God's Will for their lives. The point is that the Bible DOES say that we should prosper and be in good health, that when we give it shall be given unto us, and that when we knock the door shall be opened.
And so many Christians have lived their whole lives believing that they'll just get whatever God wants to give them... that they can sit back and get God's blessings by osmosis or something, that it requires no work on their part. But the point is that we'll not receive unless we give, and that the door won't open unless we knock. And these preachers are trying to tell the viewers that unless they stand up and DO and SAY and PUSH and SPEAK, that they're not going to get anywhere in their lives.
It says so plainly in the Word that Jesus came to give us abundant life... and it's like people overlook that sometimes. They don't realize that God wants to bless them.
I agree with your points completely... I'm not disputing anything you've said. But I thank God for these preachers, I really do, because they're putting the Word out there. They're teaching people how to live their lives. And you know, in the end, it's all about Grace.
The point is, we can't MAKE God bless us, and I really don't believe that's what they're saying. God's blessings are for us because we listen and obey... because we seek wisdom and pattern our lives after God's command. Yes, it IS a love story, a story of Grace, where the blessings we get from God are nothing we have earned. But at the same time, we will not receive from God unless we put Him first.
And I personally believe that this is the message they're trying to give... they're trying to get people to see that God has prosperity for us, but we can't just sit here and get it. While it's about Grace, we can't get it if we don't do our part. Covenant is about give and take.
The Word says that God works all things together for good for those who love Him. And who loves God? ...Those who obey His commands.
So we do have to work. And I think these preachers are trying to get that message across.