Striving to be faithful to the Bible is very important to most Christians, and for many, it is the easiest way to measure their faithfulness to God. The logic goes like this:

1. I want to be faithful to God, and
2. the Bible is God’s guide to living,
3. so I’ll do what the Bible says.

Unfortunately, there can be a problem with this line of thinking. It can lead to Christians saying things that are either inappropriate because verses are used out of context or not in line with God as seen in the person of Jesus.

This is often seen at times of loss, be it death of a loved one, or a job, or some other significant life event that causes pain. In an attempt to console the one who is experiencing the loss, Christians sometimes say things like

“God has a greater plan“,

“God took that person home“,

“God’s ways are not our ways”,

“God is trying to teach you something“

and so on. The problem with these type of comments is that they assume either that God is making everything happen or that God is willing to inflict pain in order to teach us life lessons.

The idea of a God who controls everything is a favourite for many people because it explains the unexplainable. We want there to be a reason for the chaos. It gives us hope that things will work out in the end. The people who believe in this type of God don’t quote the verse that says “it rains on the just and the unjust“. That would be giving in to the chaos, it would be to admit that God doesn’t treat us specially because we are Christians.

But what if we aren’t treated specially because we believe in God? What if God loves everyone equally? If that is the case, why bother being a Christian? To which they say,

“Ah, but you can’t get into Heaven unless you are a Christian.”

The problem with this statement is that it is supremely self-serving. It is seeking our own benefit and eternal well-being. Not dissimilar to saving up to buy a better house so that we can live more comfortably. In saying this, I’m not dismissing all the evangelism done by many Christians in an effort to get more people into Heaven, but the goal is often to give the evangelised person the opportunity to enjoy personal benefit of going to Heaven or being saved from Hell (for eternity). Its either bribe or a scare tactic.

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Brian

Spiritual practices strengthen faith and
Faith should be lived out in practice

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