In
our society a man’s worth is commonly judged by his position, his power, and
his possessions. We are conditioned to presume that anyone who lacks what we
commonly consider obvious signs of success must be uneducated, or lazy, or
both. Those who are poor are commonly considered more likely to be immoral, if
not criminal. Parents are always a little concerned if their daughter shows
interest in a boy who comes from “the wrong side of the tracks.” They are
always delighted to see her marry into the right kind of family— the kind with
money!
Young people (and old ones, too) put themselves deeply into debt to keep up the appearance of success. Husbands and wives work every minute they can, so that they can impress themselves and their neighbors with what they have! What a sad commentary those facts are upon our society!
This perverse, proud,
corrupt mentality is just as prevalent in the religious world as it is in the
secular world. We have been conditioned by the “health, wealth, prosperity”
preachers of the day to think that if a person is not physically healthy and
wealthy and prospering materially, there must be some fault in his character,
some flaw in his faith, or something otherwise evil that is the cause of his
failure.
Anything less than tangible success that leads to great comfort and prosperity
in life is shamed as being a defective faith.
What is the result? In
the minds of most, God
has been reduced to nothing more than a great dispenser of creature comforts
who is manipulated by positive thinking and positive believing! The Christian
is, in the minds of most, synonymous with prosperity. Failure of any kind,
sickness, and tragedy are thought to be beyond God’s control, contrary to his
goodness, outside his will, and altogether beneath the dignity of a Christian.
Faith today is made to be the elusive secret of elitist Christians by which
they attain all the dreams of materialism and all the flamboyance of a
Hollywood lifestyle.
Such thinking is totally contrary to the teaching of Holy Scripture. When we come to Hebrews 11, and read here of the great men and women of faith, men and women held before us by God the Holy Spirit as examples to follow, we see that faith in Christ, obedience to the revealed will of God, and the goodness of God to the people of his love very often bring us into the very condition and circumstances the world disdains. Faith in and obedience to Christ, God’s infinite wisdom, and sovereign goodness very frequently (Indeed, most commonly!) prevent the souls he loves from ever attaining that which the world calls good and great. Our God has something better for us than the riches and comforts of this world. Christ is better. Eternity is better. Our hearts must be set upon these better things, if we would attain them