The Unprofitable Servant and the Prosperity Gospel

But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?

And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?

Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.

So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which were commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which have done that which was our duty to do. ~ Luke 17:7-10

 

The prosperity gospel evangelists would have us believe that godliness means health, wealth, and a smoking hot spouse. By this definition the Apostle Paul, Barnabus and many early Christians were ungodly. Not to mention our Lord Jesus Himself.

The only things we have a right to demand from God are things He has promised. These include:

• the fruit of the Spirit–love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control
• the hastening of the Kingdom of Heaven
• for men and women everywhere to have the opportunity to come to repentance
• for the unity of Christians in our love for one another
• the wisdom to know His will and the strength to carry it out
• the opportunity to escape temptation
• deliverance from Satan and his demons
• our daily bread–our real material needs as they emerge

The truth is you can have enough faith to move Pikes Peak and still not be able to leave your wheelchair. (I firmly believe in miracles by the way.)

You can eat your veggies and still get cancer too. Or be a teetotaler with liver problems.

You can be honest and hard working and tithe–yet still wind up in poverty.

You can be scrupulously chaste, attend church every time the doors are open, yet die a virgin.

Nowhere in the Bible does the Lord promise us earthly goodies for following Him. We are to pursue the Kingdom of God. And His righteousness.

Pray for the increase of His Kingdom and personal holiness that will please Him.

He will care for the rest.

The only material goods we should pursue are sufficient food and clothing. Contentment with the above is all we need.

Remember we are only His servants. He owes us nothing for obeying His orders.

 

Cartoon by Eldon Dedini. First published in Esquire. Feb., 1955.

Pills for Love

“Steve” attended a church where my dad preached when I was in my early teens. His appearance was unusual. Dark bushy hair and full, wild beard in the eighties  when that wasn’t the fashion. His grooming was not great, and he was pale with wild eyes. His voice sounded high, nasal and slightly whiny most of the time.

Every now and then he  became hopeful to the point of becoming extremely excited and irrational. During these times he became convinced God had divinely appointed him to become President of the USA–but if he failed the whole world would go to Hell. And he–Steve–would be to blame.

Steve had been diagnosed with bipolar. Out of concern for Steve’s welfare Dad contacted his psychiatrist. (With Steve’s permission.”) According to the soul-doctor, all Steve had to do was take his pills exactly as prescribed. If he did that, stuff like being unemployed, deserted by his wife, and shunned by humanity would quit bothering him. And, more importantly, he would quit bothering us.

Dad was perhaps the only person there who saw Steve as a suffering human being. Everyone else treated him like something they scraped off their shoe bottom.

Psychiatry may have not helped Steve feel better, but it helped the rest of us immensely. It’s okay to treat “crazies” like pieces of garbage as long as we keep yelling at them to shut up and take their pills. If they bug us too much, get them locked up.

They have mental illnesses instead of feelings or thoughts after all. Why do they go to church when they really don’t have souls–just defective brains and mental illnesses? The yuppies at my church did a great job freezing Steve out I can tell you.

Though the pills addled his thinking–they really are about rendering patients docile rather than restoring cognitive abilities–Steve could still tell everyone wanted him gone. Soon enough he left.

Jesus came to our door looking for love and friendship. We told him to take his medicines and leave us alone. “If you want to talk to someone, talk to a professional. We aren’t ‘equipped’ to deal with people like you.”

“If you did it not for the least of these, you did it not for Me.”

Weep for shame American Christians!