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Things you never prayed for are given you—internet that suddenly goes berserk, big flies, pestering cough, dead rat stuck somewhere in your house and just keeps smelling like hell, and many more. It puzzles (and amazes) me why they keep happening when you don’t see why they need to.
Rats? How in the world are rats for your good? And your internet connection broken for a week even if God knows you rely on it for your daily sustenance? And cough pestering my son even if I pray everyday (everyday!) that God keep all sickness away from us?
And things I pray for everyday (that my blogs and e-books start earning more than enough money so I and my wife can focus on real ministry and have a life of our own instead of being cruelly enslaved and used by other people, especially our relatives) remain unanswered for a long time. And I’m getting tired of it all.
And then I’m dumbstruck by how the rich just keep getting more blessed even if they don’t pray at all and don’t care about God (or worse, even if they keep praying to their gods and idols, even those in Christian churches), even if they get more arrogant. And then I keep seeing in the bible how God supposedly sides with the meek and righteous but does not prosper the wicked.
Huh?
I’m not asking for mansions or luxuries or super riches. All I’m asking is that God bless me enough so I and my family wouldn’t be at the mercy of these people. I’m tired of being treated as trash and slaves (even by some “Christians”) just because we (I, my wife and kids) aren’t rich. And we’re always accused of living contrary to God’s will just because we have no money.
You’d be surprised how almost everybody in church thinks this way—you have no money because you are disobedient. The rich are so because God is pleased with them. They really believe it. If you’re living in God’s will, you should have lots of money and possessions. That’s proof that God is on your side.
I don’t believe that one bit because the bible doesn’t say that. In fact, the bible says the wicked are “like green plants” [Psalm 37.2] and have “wealth” [Psalm 37.16]. In fact, the Lord’s enemies are “like the beauty of the fields,” [Psalm 37.20]. Yeah, the wicked get blessed, indeed.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? [Jeremiah 12]
Asaph the Psalmist one day saw how “blessed” the wicked were:
I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills…This is what the wicked are like—always carefree, they increase in wealth. [Psalm 73]
Those who have lots of money and possessions aren’t necessarily in God’s favor. A lot of times, God gives them riches as “punishment.” The danger with having plenty is that man has the tendency to get blinded by wealth and “disown” the Lord, be so arrogant as to have his subconscious say, “Who is the Lord?” [Proverbs 30.9], at the same time that he is still religious.
In this sense, riches are a punishment from God—anything that blocks your way to genuine closeness with God is a curse, even blessings.
But the righteous still need money and possessions—not to get extravagantly rich—but to live responsibly. You need money to obey God.
Anyone who does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. [1 Timothy 5.8]
This is why I work hard at my blogs and ebooks and always pray that God bless them. But he still does not. Why?
I just keep holding on to the Lord and hoping in Him, no matter what happens.
Wait for the Lord and keep His way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it. [Psalm 37.34]
Rats? How in the world are rats for your good? And your internet connection broken for a week even if God knows you rely on it for your daily sustenance? And cough pestering my son even if I pray everyday (everyday!) that God keep all sickness away from us?
And things I pray for everyday (that my blogs and e-books start earning more than enough money so I and my wife can focus on real ministry and have a life of our own instead of being cruelly enslaved and used by other people, especially our relatives) remain unanswered for a long time. And I’m getting tired of it all.
And then I’m dumbstruck by how the rich just keep getting more blessed even if they don’t pray at all and don’t care about God (or worse, even if they keep praying to their gods and idols, even those in Christian churches), even if they get more arrogant. And then I keep seeing in the bible how God supposedly sides with the meek and righteous but does not prosper the wicked.
Huh?
I’m not asking for mansions or luxuries or super riches. All I’m asking is that God bless me enough so I and my family wouldn’t be at the mercy of these people. I’m tired of being treated as trash and slaves (even by some “Christians”) just because we (I, my wife and kids) aren’t rich. And we’re always accused of living contrary to God’s will just because we have no money.
You’d be surprised how almost everybody in church thinks this way—you have no money because you are disobedient. The rich are so because God is pleased with them. They really believe it. If you’re living in God’s will, you should have lots of money and possessions. That’s proof that God is on your side.
I don’t believe that one bit because the bible doesn’t say that. In fact, the bible says the wicked are “like green plants” [Psalm 37.2] and have “wealth” [Psalm 37.16]. In fact, the Lord’s enemies are “like the beauty of the fields,” [Psalm 37.20]. Yeah, the wicked get blessed, indeed.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? [Jeremiah 12]
Asaph the Psalmist one day saw how “blessed” the wicked were:
I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills…This is what the wicked are like—always carefree, they increase in wealth. [Psalm 73]
Those who have lots of money and possessions aren’t necessarily in God’s favor. A lot of times, God gives them riches as “punishment.” The danger with having plenty is that man has the tendency to get blinded by wealth and “disown” the Lord, be so arrogant as to have his subconscious say, “Who is the Lord?” [Proverbs 30.9], at the same time that he is still religious.
In this sense, riches are a punishment from God—anything that blocks your way to genuine closeness with God is a curse, even blessings.
But the righteous still need money and possessions—not to get extravagantly rich—but to live responsibly. You need money to obey God.
Anyone who does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. [1 Timothy 5.8]
This is why I work hard at my blogs and ebooks and always pray that God bless them. But he still does not. Why?
I just keep holding on to the Lord and hoping in Him, no matter what happens.
Wait for the Lord and keep His way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it. [Psalm 37.34]
