The Folly of Seeking the Benefits
By Molly on Feb 29, 2008 in 2008 Journal Entry, Goals
I haven’t been on my little blog much lately. Instead I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I’ve thought and I’ve thought and as minutes turned into hours, hours into days, still I could be found thinking about the Christ, Jesus the Christ to be exact.
I’ve thought about the definition of the word Christian, which I’ve learned means “belonging to Christ.” I’ve thought about Jesus as my Life, not just in my life. And finally I’ve thought about the words found in Galatians 2:20,
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
I know, I know, that’s probably way too much thinking for someone like me but rest assured no one, myself included, was hurt during this long, strenuous process. I’m sure the padded helmet helped tremendously.
Anyway, this morning my mind seemed to be headed into a new direction, or so I thought. I awoke thinking how foolish I was at times to seek after happiness, fulfillment, contentment, even godliness or righteousness. I thought about how many times I had heard different people witnessing to non-believers say that Christ could save them from hell, if they would just believe in him. Even worse, I had heard others say that they should believe in Jesus to find peace and happiness in this life.
While all of the outcomes may be good, right, pure, and true, should we really be seeking the benefits above the benefactor? Should our goal be to have it all together, to be faultless? Is that what makes us a Christian? Should we be telling people to believe in Christ for the benefits it brings to their life? And if I’m seeking after these things rather than the one who provides them, is there anyway I can ever find them?
I think not.
I’m sure many of us have, even if we don’t relish admitting it, flipped on TBN just in time to catch Benny Hinn or another word-of-faith teacher tell us to send in our seed money or our $1000 faith gift, “even if you can’t afford it, in fact especially if you can’t afford it.” Their reasoning is that God can not be out given so if we give, then God will have to give back to us. The more we give then the more we get, and if we don’t have, it’s because we haven’t given. It’s easy to see the discrepancy between their teaching versus the Word of God. They aren’t teaching obedience to His Word but rather seek the benefits, with their own little twists of the truth thrown in for good measure.
But how is seeking righteousness any different? Isn’t righteousness the outcome of a life surrendered to Christ, one that is laid down in sacrifice to the one who gave His all for us? If I truly no longer live, as Galatians says, but Christ lives in me, then won’t Christ be doing the same today in me, as He did 2000 years ago? That is to say, won’t He be about His Father’s business, living in complete obedience to God? So then the only thing I should be seeking is to allow Christ in me to be obedient to God’s Word.
There will come a day when each one of us stands before the God of all creation and we will have to answer to Him for our life here on earth. Some will have nothing to say for themselves at all, they never believed, some even boldly denied, that the God of the Bible is the one true living God.
Then there will be those who claim the name of Jesus as their VIP pass into heaven, they’ll stand before God and say, “I believed in Jesus, I read the Bible, I went to church every Sunday, and I even put my children in Christian school.” Yet Jesus will be standing next to them listening the whole time that they speak and they will not recognize Him. Not until they hear Him say, “I never knew you, depart from me…” And off they’ll go sporting the perfect hairstyle, the perfect education, maybe even the perfect reputation. As 2 Timothy 3:5 puts it,
“having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.”
I don’t want to be found standing in either of these lines. If the truth be told, I’d rather take the service elevator to my Savior’s throne and be cleaning the leather or polishing the jewels encrusted in it when this is going on.
When all is said and done, the fires of judgment will diminish, and only those things done by Jesus himself through me will remain to be rewarded. The rewards are not the benefit I seek but only to stand approved before God, and it is only Christ in me that can accomplish this goal. Christ in me is truly the hope of glory!
Molly, It’s late and I’m so tired that I may not get my point across, but this post really struck a chord with me. Not only was it beautiful beyond words, but also every bit as true. My mother always warned me against seeking the gift and not the giver and your words tell that in a much more insightful way than I ever would have thought myself. I’m really glad I had the chance to read this.
Be blessed my friend!
Mycrazylife | Feb 29, 2008 | Reply
I can’t even begin to tell you how irritated I get from tele-evangelists who, who… who… GAH! it bothers me so much, that I can’t even put my words into thoughts… Who stretch scripture as far as they can to benefit themselves (or their “ministries”).
My first thought was… “WHAT? ‘even if you can’t afford it, in fact especially if you can’t afford it.’ ??? What about being good stewards of what God has given us? What about the family that tithes their 10% out of obedience, lives a fully obedient life in Christ, is a good steward of their money and their all, and yet has barely enough to feed their family? Should THEY still give even though they can’t afford it?”
Twisted thinking!
One thing I’ve noticed about tithing… I have heard preachers say too often that if you give your tithe, you will get so much in return. People often translate that to mean that they will receive great financial reward, but honestly? I’m all about the act of obedience, and having the faith that God will provide for our NEEDS, and while I may not see riches pouring in, I certainly see how God has his protecting hand/cover over us, provides when we need it, and blesses us not just in monetary ways, but with wisdom, too.
You have such a good topic to discuss here! So many things in one little post. Wow.
GiBee | Mar 10, 2008 | Reply
Wow, this really caught my attention. I think it’s crazy just how twisted people’s thinking can get when it comes to the Bible and Religion. I’m amazed at some of the crazy “Christian Lines” I’ve heard before. When all it really takes is living for Christ and making the most of your relationship with Him. If you’re doing that then He will work out all the details. He will provide, He will lead you where you need to be and He will show you His exact will for your life!
Thank you for sharing this. I’m sure glad I stopped by today!
Stacey | Mar 15, 2008 | Reply
Molly, as usual, you give your visitors so much to think about. Thank you for sharing!
kangomommy | Mar 19, 2008 | Reply
Wow. What else can I say?
There is much to digest in your words. I can’t even imagine the time it took to get to that point. Thank you for sharing what the Lord brought to you.
Qtpies7~ | Mar 25, 2008 | Reply
You make some good points. I guess the way I look at it is, I can’t tell a non-believer to beleive in God because God deserves our praise. I doubt that will be enough to convince them. They want to know what God has done in my life–the benefits. It’s kind of like a job prospect. Someone can tell you it is a “good” job, but you want to know all of the benefits (wages, insurance, perks) before taking it. The benefits aren’t the only reason you are taking the job–because in the end, you still have to do the work that the job requires. A job as a marine biologist would not work for me, no matter how good the benefits are–I suck at biology!! The cool thing about God is, we are all made for relationship with him, it is a “job” we can all do. I hope that makes sense!
Jason Pearson | Mar 29, 2008 | Reply