Wouldn’t it be cool if God was a genie, and if you rubbed him the right way you could get your wildest dreams to come true?
Or maybe he could be like the Lotto, and you could hit the Jackpot with him, and a windfall of goodies could come your way, with no trouble at all.
Or God could be like a butler with supernatural body toning and skin enhancing skills to diminish the signs of aging and flabbiness.
Ah, God, the big vending machine in the sky…
Except-God asks us to be familiar in relationship to him like a spouse. He calls us his “Beloved.” Hum… conundrum…
Is the Get God-Get Rich idea perhaps a bit immature? Near-sighted?
Anyway, God is a Being described as a Person, right?
A friend of mine, Jon Acuff, has a hilarious post called “Secretly Believing in the Prosperity Gospel.” You’ll laugh out loud if you read it. His book, “Stuff Christians Like” is a great commentary on Christian sub-culture that will have you laughing non stop! (Especially if you were ever a preacher’s kid!)
We all have our troubles, and our issues. We all have pain, and problems.
In American, Jesus has often been sold like a product. When there is still struggle, disappointment,and pain, the “Jesus is the Answer,” for some people just feels like a broken promise. Maybe even, a crappy snake oil kind of product. It’s quite a consumerist mentality.
Asian depiction of Jesus painted c.1880s
In many parts of the world though, being a follower of Jesus means one pays dearly. Perhaps in health quality, comfort, safety, status, personal/family economics, and in quite a number of cases, with one’s life. Is Jesus still the answer? Well, in the gobal South and East more adults have willingly claimed Jesus as Savior and Lord in the last 35 years, than in ALL the last 1,500 years combined. Christianity is booming like never before worldwide, and greatly outpacing any other belief system. One missiologist suggested, where there is struggle, oppression, and suffering, Jesus shows up.
(note: You may have heard Islam is the fastest growing relegion in the world, but consider that Muslims claim any one living in an Islamic state (at any age from birth on) and those under newly-changed Muslim governmental regimes, or anyone converted by force to Islam are considered Muslims in these tallies. A personal faith, or a conscious and unforced decision to choose one’s faith is not considered a criteria for Islamic adherence in these statistics.)
Simply put, the gospel message, and a person’s receiving of it, doesn’t result in an easier life. Maybe even the opposite is true, but it continues to be the hope and healing many give their lives for. The affluence of America, and other Western countries, has seemed to create an entitlement mentality or expectancy of a time of comfort or ease for the spiritual journeyer. That concept seems to be a cultural construct, more than anything. And it seems a childish one, at that. We are here to help each through life, which can be very difficult indeed. There is something about the struggle that helps us grow, and makes us better than before, by grace.
I won’t kid you. Some people honestly need to be chemically helped with medication to feel well. That is in a different category, in my opinion. A doctor, and probably both a spiritual director and therapist can assist here, for those who cannot see life as anything but gloomy, or can’t get out of bed in the morning.
How does this play out in the real world, and in the blogosphere?
It’s quite interesting. I have stumbled on SO many blogs. So many perspectives. In them, people reveal who they are, and what they really believe in, value, or to whom they sacrifice. They tell who they count as important, whether they put themselves and their comforts in the center of their lives, or if they use their time to inspire. I have been saddened to see so many negative Christian blogs, consumed with bemoaning one thing or another.
They are WILDLY different, and I still get baffled by it sometimes.
I visit one more than the other. One is a professing Christian, and one is not. Since I can’t be in the mind of either author, I must admit, I really can’t know what they experience, much at all. I can’t condemn either one, I don’t want to, and I won’t.
Yet, one insight emerges after witnessing these two perspectives, when I ask myself,
“Who would I rather emulate?”
I ask myself, “How do I want to be in this world?’
I’ll leave general observations and summations to you.
If the exploration reveals anything for you–I’d be quite interested in your responses.
This man just prayed, "God, give me sign if I should get a dog?"
(Was the cat joke too obtuse?)
Has a bit of Hoodoo, folk magic, superstition, and general hooey nuzzled its way into your theology? Probably. We all fall prey to cultural influences that don’t have a solid base in the nature of Reality, (i.e. our Creator and Redeemer) Take this self-test to know if you’re mostly hoodoo-free, or if you could use an excorcism, a bath, a dose of Reality, or just a good swift kick in the pants. Oh, and please, enjoy yourself. It’s all supposed to be fun, good-natured, and thought-provoking in a helpful sort of way.
Hoodoo Self-test
Answer true or false, and add up your answers as you go.
1. Once in a while you straddle a broomstick, and hope it will magically fly. (Or you think about doing it.)
2. Hogwarts seems like the ideal boarding school, even if there does tend to be a lack of supervision.
3. Sometimes you make plans, and then think to ask God to bless what you are doing, with a sign, if possible, to see if it’s “his will.”
4. You’ve gotten hurt or sick and thought it could be a punishment from God, (however, you go so far as to call it “bad juju.”)
5. You’ve fairly certain you’ve been hexed or cursed by someone at some point in your lifetime, maybe by someone who hated you, or a band of gypsies.
6. If you don’t pray in Jesus’ name, you think your prayer could be a dud.
7. When you need to, you put out a (proverbial) fleece, much in the style of Gideon, to get confirmation from God.
8. If God seems silent on a decision you need to make, you check for “closed and open doors,” and pray more zealously about it.
9. Not getting in private devotional/Bible reading time with God can correspond to a bad day, (or an odd string of bad luck, or even a loss of mojo.)
10. You suspect demonic activity is responsible for a lot of your temptations, mistakes, and influences.
*Scoring: Add up all your true scores.
1-3 True answers means that like many people you have been somewhat influenced by hoodoo folk magic and folk theology. The upcoming series will be of great benefit to you. Hold off on the exorcism-for now. But, don’t get too cocky.
3-6 True answers means that you have a bit of a problem area with hoodoo. (See my other post to learn more about hoodoo vs. voodoo. It’s oh so real.) You probably don’t realize the extent you are being witchy with God. Don’t freak out, he won’t put a bad spell on you, but I’m sure he yearns for you to get to know him, more for who he is. It could be more complicated than the voodoo doll slippery slope approach that can creep up unawares. It could be very comforting for you too, to hear a few fresh ideas. Check back soon for posts in this series.
6-10 True answers mean you have a hoodoo issue. Return any capes, magic wands, voodoo dolls, potions, or caldrons you may have purchased. They will not serve you well. It’s quite likely that you are incorporating some superstitions into your worldview, theological foundation, and everyday life.
But there is always hope! God wants your liberation, and the journey to freedom, with him. It will be so restful at the end. You won’t have to keep looking over your shoulder, so that will be nice too! Check back soon for many helpful ways to rid your perspective of faulty notions of God’s nature, character, and actions; and learn of his redemptive agency in his created world.
If you are ready to grow, be open, and BRAVE, leave your score in the comment section. If not, please post something you’ve been thinking about throughout this time. Thank you!
*(This test is mildly amusing, but not real, in any scientific way, so please don’t be upset however your score may come out. The idea behind it is to prompt thought about your beliefs and spiritual actions against the gracious, loving, true nature of our Creator and Redeemer.)
A few thoughts about needing signs, from my Savior and mentor:
“Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” John 4:48 (Said despairingly of the Jews who rejected Jesus in Nazareth.)
Matt. 12:38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.” 39He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
This is the greatest sign and revelation that God is God, he came in the flesh, died, was buried for 3 days, and was brought to life again, which was witnessed by many. He is trustworthy.
Man divining for water with a divining (or dowsing) rod
They don’t call it a “divining rod” for nothing. This little stick set up gives powers beyond unaided human abilities–it helps tap into the “Divine powers.” It’s woo-woo. Maybe even hoodoo. This guy used to find water underground with a diving rod in exchange for a bottle of whiskey. After he worked up to 15 bottles per day, he switched to cash.
But, people love the idea of knowing something beyond their typical capacity. With horoscopes, palm reading, psychics, crystal balls, or seances, the idea is the same: Get valuable information through supernatural means in order to get an edge, or special comfort from that knowledge.
But Christians don’t really do that, right?
BUZZ. wrong. Thanks for playing :)
(I got a little “Robin Williams” on you there for a second.)
Yes. Christians often try to maintain control over their world through the supernatural/divine, to use it to their benefit. It just might be a bit more subtle. Or, it’s just labeled differently so it has a Biblical righteousness to it. Nevertheless it’s a trap the produces shallow spiritual growth.
This new Series I’ll do, on “common Christian hoodoo,” I will unveil ways which we, as spiritual people, get all “witch doctory” on God, for our benefit. Ways we try to toy with him for our own advantage and comfort, most often without really realizing it. Our perspective has sort of gotten a mite warped in how we relate to the Divine. God might put up with it, (He’s gracious-that how he rolls.) but it surely stunts our spiritual growth, and intimacy with God, our loving Creator.
It’s not too much different than a average, healthy, 30 year old who expects to be fed by mommy from a bottle, and wiped cleaned after using the potty. One can get by that way, but it’s really not so good, ya know? It’s not the best for the person. It’s not very mature, but one could get along that way.
Still, a good parent will often challenge a growing child to become stronger and more developed, which is not just better for that person, by for the community as a whole. God does the same thing, which could be part of the reason you are struggling with some tough things right now, and reading this as well. It’s challenge time for you, in some way.
If you think about it, you may have used prayer as a kind of divining rod tool a few times. Right? Have you ever prayed something like, “God, if you want me to do this, please, give me a sign.” We hope that a kind of “divining rod prayer” will show the way to or through something that seems outside our grasp, or beyond our vision. We get witchy with the supernatural to find out stuff we need to know. Be honest, you’ve done this! I sure have!
My questions/reflections…Is this just an immature attempt to get control? Is it a maneuver to manipulate the supernatural for our purposes? If not, what is it? When should it be done, if at all? Is there a better way?
More on this, in a specific way, later. But–Tell us your ideas!
I am taking Christian Ethics with Dr. Miller at ETS.
Our first assignment due this coming Monday was detailed thus: “Write a brief essay explaining his/her understanding of the relationship between the study of Ethics and ministry. ”
I’ll include an excerpt of my paper, and how I kept my ethics class abreast of what has come to be known around here as “Nipple-gate”:
The entire episode (now termed “Nipplegate,” by some) reflects the ethical dilemma of my vocation. I have a role to play as a writer with a Christian worldview, and I am attempting to minister to Christians and non-Christians. Not everyone will be happy all of the time with what is authored and portrayed at my blog. This is an obvious impossibility. Predilections, doctrines, and convictions vary a great deal within my viewing audience. However, I have an undeniable ethical responsibility to my readership to well-reflect the standards of the God I love and serve. The questions become–what is truly suitable to allow at my site; and where and how must I draw the line that distinguishes personal preferences from God’s standards?
Thus far, I have come to a resolution to make all reasonable efforts to conduct the affairs of my site in excellence, with the hopes that in so doing, it will not make others stumble. (This has always been my philosophy, but in this case, it was botched as I let an aspect of the site remain out of exceptionally close oversight.) My overall method is not foolproof for avoiding every glitch, but it is a deliberate vision for my work.
A bit of perspective is in order too. Not just for the way I think about my work, and the way I offer it up to readers, but for promoting the worldview I believe–in, and of, itself. Yes, each decision we make counts in the big picture, but how much better to see the big picture first, and then zoom in from a bigger view, down, into ordinary life. God, perfect and holy, is our guiding Light. God’s laws and rules do not just give us a guide; they mirror the character of God himself. His perfection is the standard and starting point for our choices. Seen this way, we are better able to make wise and ethical decisions.
That being said, it is the overarching decisions that carry the most import. So when Jesus sums up all the law and the prophets into the Great Commandment2, this is not an annulment of the law, but an encompassing of it. Sometimes in and among the nitpicking decisions and details of our conduct choices– even during our attempts to be righteous–we miss the Great Command altogether. God is marginalized by the rules themselves, and neighbors are trampled more than anything. It seems if the Spirit of the command is upheld, much of the rest can sorted out more easily.
When we attempt to deal in microcosms of various everyday ethical situations, we must not miss the point of the greater good, as God defines it. God defines it in the essence of who he truly is. His nature and character are the basis for our decisions that we must work out in practical and contextual ways. As we bump up against perfection, with our solutions, we come up as less-than-perfect. We inevitably do not meet the standard. Thus, we prove our need for God’s grace and forgiveness, and the grace and forgiveness of those around us. It is failed ethics balanced by applied grace that sustains, and saves us from the ethical ideals we can never attain, but must continually aim for, as they are reflections of Reality itself.
It will be my approach to apply the Great Commandment as the ethical plan in my ministry. As a foundation for my will, thoughts, motives, and deeds, my hope is to strive to keep these things fully loyal to God, the author and finisher of my faith; and to keep his human creation honored. This loyalty will mean laying aside self, and selfish ambition, but not just for the greater good. In reality, I will be attempting to set my life toward the world as is truly is, with God as the source of good, and goodness. This way will also be a light, enacted with those to whom I minister, as it reveals my core beliefs, Christian worldview, and the truth of God as revealed in Scripture.
2 Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
I’d love to hear your reflections on the topic of ethics in ministry, or any related topic I’ve discussed here. Thank you for reading.
