God Doesn't Buy Followers

Early in my Christian walk I became exposed to the ‘Prosperity Gospel’, particularly that  version promoted by Robert Schuller and his Hour of Power. Perhaps I am oversimplifying it a little, but it says in essence that if we are good, trusting Christians, claiming God’s promises and faithfully returning our tithes and offerings, we will be blessed, with a big emphasis on financial blessings.

There is some Biblical basis for this, but it is not the full picture. My own denomination often exhorts the flock to be faithful in its return of tithes and offerings, quoting similar promises of the blessings that will flow back from God.

A couple of years before I left the air force I was introduced to the concept of multi-level marketing. Amway, Herbalife, and other companies operate on this basis, although my connection was with another company. The promise is that if you work the system, and this means recruiting and training new members to work under you, within a short time you will have a great income and lots of free time.

I saw this as an opportunity. Work hard, follow the rules, lots of positive thinking, and I could end up with a self-supporting ministry. I could work my business a couple of days a week and commit the rest to working for God sharing the Gospel with the masses.

It all seemed so easy, but it didn’t work. When I left the air force I could cash in a part of my superannuation, a significant sum. I thought this would see me through, but I ended up losing it. It didn’t help when I read in our Church magazine or heard stories of people who had trusted God, stepped out in faith, and their businesses had been blessed by God. It almost destroyed my faith.

God, it seemed, had deserted me. I was angry, frustrated and hurting, but I could not bring myself to express doubt, for that amounted to a lack of trust. Finally, when it was getting too much for me, I prayed something like this: ‘God, you know how I am feeling. I feel as if you are deserting me, not listening to my prayers. Yet Lord I know you are there and that you do care.’

That prayer didn’t change everything, but it was perhaps the most important prayer I have ever prayed. Now I was being honest with God. The blessings didn’t flow in any monetary sense, but they did in other ways. I was at peace with God, and that was all that really mattered.

The Bible tells me I am not the only one to have a similar experience. For example, I read the anguish of David in Psalm 13.

1 Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?

   How long will you look the other way?

2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,

   with sorrow in my heart every day?

   How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

3 Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!

   Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.

4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”

   Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love.

   I will rejoice because you have rescued me.

6 I will sing to the Lord

   because he is good to me.

This was also the experience of Jesus as He was about to die; ‘At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’ (Mat. 27.46). What wonderful assurance to know that Jesus’s experience was in some ways similar to mine.

As the writer of Hebrews says in Chapter 4:15; ‘This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.’ So the writer can then confidently proclaim in the next verse ‘So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.’

God doesn’t buy followers by handing out ‘freebies’, by giving us all we ask or demand of Him. My experience was a hard one, and I have been through other hard times since. Yet God has always come through in the end. I am reminded of Hebrews 11. This chapter has a long list of those who are considered faithful, many of whom were martyred for their faith.

The chapter finishes with these words; ‘All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.’ (39, 40).

Ultimately God’s promises are fulfilled in the earth to come, not this one. Faith is not, and never was, easy. It is the most challenging and demanding walk we can ever take. 1 Corinthians 10:12,13 contains both a warning and a promise:

If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

We are both warned against over-confidence and assured that we do not take the walk alone. For Jesus Christ, our great and faithful High Priest, is beside us at every step.

Quotes from the New Living Translation.