The One Thing Christians Should Stop Saying | The Accidental Missionary I read this article earlier this year and a post on here yesterday reminded me of it. Any opinions?
Totally agree. I agree because it would make it appear to those that are struggling that there is some grand conspiracy from God to punish them if they are not as fortunate or that they are secretly not living their correctly. I have a co-worker who purchased a 4 door 2wd tacoma about a month ago. He was proud of his purchase and told us how he was "blessed" and then proceeded to say "God Is Good". I quickly questioned him in front of co-workers that, if "God was Awesome" would he have provided a 4x4 Tundra? Needless to say he thought I was being rude. In reality I think its weird to think that an Omnimpotent being would be micromanaging trivial matters such as vehicle purchases and rewarding people with material goods. Sure you can be thankful for being born in a time,in a place and having the intelligence to save up for a big purchase, but to attribute the toyota tacoma to a good God, seems rude in and of itself.
The article makes a very good point. And I agree totally! The "Beatitiudes" as they are sometimes called do not show a person receiving "good things" and being called blessed. It speaks of the meek, those who mourn, the poor in spirit and so on. Most people have no clue what it means to be poor in spirit, to have a pure heart or to be meek. They only speak of blessings when things are going well. Tell someone they are blessed when a loved one dies or when they are fired from a job or when they have been evicted from their home and see what reaction you will get? What a lot of people fail to realize is a lot of things that they call a blessing can actually come form the adversary or come about by their own doing. I will give you an example. A person goes out and buys a car, truck or house they cannot afford. They have the credit rating to get it and they do. Now they struggle month to month to pay the bill and to keep current on their other bills. I have heard many people say "God blessed them with it. If God didn't want me to have it, I would not have gotten it. Wait a minute, God didn't go down to the dealership or to the bank, YOU DID! So let me get this right, God blessed you with something you could not afford to pay for? Then they come back and say, He doesn't put no more on you than you can bear." He didn't put this on you, YOU DID! Truth is many people use their religion to justify their actions or inactions. Just like saying, "I gave it to Jesus, I am not going to worry about it." He died on the Torture stake and shed His blood. What else do you want Him to do? Have you exhausted all means to resolve the issue you are facing? The laws of the Bible and the laws of the universe work together. Action is required on part of the believer. Very few people will thank and praise the Father when they are going through trials or hard times. I do because I do my best to be conscious at all times. When something doesn't go my way, I look up and say Thank You Father! When it goes my way I do the same thing. Paul tells us this Philipians 4:11-12. But for too many people, their faith is for show and this is why you hear this said all the time. Just my .02!
Blessed is the Name of the Lord for He giveth and taketh away. One of my favorite stories in the bible is the story of Job. He had everything, Land, livestock, servants, lots of children, a wife, and all the money. Satan went to God to ask permission to do something to Job. God said do what you want but He will never curse me. Satan took EVERYTHING away. All livestock dead, all servants dead, all children dead, all riches gone. He was laying there naked face down on the ground. His wife yelled at him to just curse God and die. But he didn't. He said "blessed is the Name of the Lord for He giveth and taketh away." Job realized that everything he had on this earth was nothing. The only thing he had was God. He counted everything else as loss, and God as more important then anything. Phil 1:21 "to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
Of course for the sake of argument, one has to believe in God. I do believe in God and I understand that others may not (this isn't the place to debate that). So with that being said, for the sake of the argument God exists. It's sad I need a disclaimer but since there's so many thread hijackers out there, deal with it. I don't agree with the article at all or those who say God doesn't promise or provide wealth/success. If someone thinks THEY achieved success on any level without God (and His will, which has already been decided) then they are taking omnipotence away from God. Furthermore, there are verses that directly relates material affluence with obedience. "And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today. The Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock." Deuteronomy 28:1-8 Being blessed in the city, in the fields and in your flock are the same as being successful in today's society. Money isn't the root of all evil, the love FOR money is. Of course not all who are successful or wealthy obey God, but certainly success doesn't happen without the work of God. EDIT: Well, I found another verse that about sums it up. "You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers, as it is this day." Deuteronomy 8:18 If one wants to pick and choose which parts of the Bible they want to believe or follow, well then that's a whole other issue.
The article is about what Christians should and shouldn't say. If a Christian doesn't use the Word of God as their guide, what point is there in believing or following it? Should we just listen to other people's articles rather than the inspired Word of God? Why would I not use verses from the Bible to voice my argument, especially since this pertains to what Christians should or shouldn't do or believe? I certainly don't have a better argument than what the Bible already provided. EDIT: I've been trying to think of other ways to explain this but I honestly can't. My answer comes from the Bible, that's all I can say. I guess we just have different beliefs on what God provides, but I still wonder why you would care about an article written about Christians but then want reasoning of opposing views of the article without using Bible verses. If you are a Christian then why care what anything/anyone else says apart from the Bible. If you are not a Christian then why care what they should or shouldn't say to begin with? For Christians, the Bible IS the answer.
Yeah I read it, I wasn't trying to disagree or call anyone out over it, I really just wanted to add another reason as too why the word "Blessed" is used by many
If ever there was a case of "if you have nothing nice to say, just say nothing" The proper reply was .....................
As a non-Christian, or as someone who questions the existence of God/Jesus like I do, I seem to have a problem with the way most people use the term "blessed". Too many times I've heard people say I am blessed to have this, or blessed to have that. Celebrities will say they are blessed to win this emmy, or a hunter on tv will say they are blessed to have killed their deer, or a rich person will say they are blessed to have the money they have. I feel like God could care less about what they have. If god does exist he would care more about what those people have done for others and not care about what people have earned for themselves. I would rather be blessed in the one way I can help others than in the 10 ways I can help myself. People use the term as if its personal. Even as a non-Christian I know its more important to help others than to help myself. Sorry...didn't mean to rant.
I've already provided Bible verses where it speaks on God providing wealth to those who obey. It doesn't mean everyone who obeys him will have wealth, BUT, according to Deuteronomy 8:17-18, in a general statement about wealth, God providing, and commanding us NOT to forget Him who provides it says: You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. The point is, God provides. His "care" as you speak of is for mankind, who were created in his image and for his pleasure. He wants us to seek salvation, through His son, who he sent to this earth to pay for the ultimate price for sin, which is death. Obedience to God can render different kinds of wealth.
As someone who struggles daily with the concept of religion and God, how are those whom are loyal and faithful to Christ and are stricken with the worst of "luck," in the form death, disease, poverty, etc., examples of blessing those who are faithful? THE biggest issue for me with my struggle with beliefs in God is how there is no rhyme or reason to one's fate. The worst of people can live long lives full of riches, and the best of people can have a newborn die in their arms, or a loved one stricken with cancer, or they themselves suffer from illness. I don't argue against the use of blessing, but, I agree, it's WAY misused. Because, let's be honest, wouldn't have God blessed the Steeler's last night in light of their former darling of a player? :D
Well yeah, no one understands Gods will other than God. I think it's comical for people to label other people as being either "good" or "bad". Like your statement above "the worst of people can live long lives full of riches, and the best of people can have a newborn die in their arms, or a loved one stricken with cancer, or they themselves suffer from illness." We are all sinners, equally, so again like some of the others above, you are taking away from God's omnipresence and putting your own judgement (or label if you will) on people. Look at it this way, even before having kids parents can forsee all the possibilities that their child could go through tough times in life, experience pain, suffering, sickness, or even turn from them and want nothing to do with them when they are older. Does that stop people from having kids? No. Although not exactly the same it's the best comparison out there. God still decided to create the earth and put His children on it, even though He knew we would sin and turn from Him. Did it stop Him? No. So I'm not saying I have the answer, but surely none of us know or understand God's will and your label of someone being good and having bad things happen to them or vice versa holds no water up against God's will.
I do define levels of "good" or "bad." As do you. All humans do. Our perception of good and bad may not match that of God, but I digress. I'll put it in more simple terms so we don't get into a hampster wheel discussion (I don't enter religion discussions for this sake...too late at this point I suppose). People who murder, rape, steal, etc., are, by our definitions, worse than those who live their lives to help others and try their best to serve God (again knowing we ALL sin). MY problem is with fate dealing a bad hand to the latter, when, if anything, ALL bad hands should be dealt to the former. NO bible verse will answer that question for me, which is why I said I struggle (and will struggle for the remainder of my life) with the "blessed" idea. I'm not looking for convincing, just know that's where I stand on the issue. Period. :D Carry on.
I don't need it put more simply, the arguement just doesn't make sense. It's fine for you to have that opinion, but it's not what the Bible says. So in a discussion about God and what the Bible says about sin it doesn't match. Yes we all label people when it comes to crime because not all sin is a crime, so you're mixing two completely different things and the argument is begining to turn into that hampster wheel. When it comes to labelling someone as "good" or "bad" has nothing to do with crime or even sin for that matter. Someone could be "bad" but not a criminal. You could label someone "good" but is secretly a criminal. Whether "good" or "bad" both might NOT be criminals, but both are in fact sinners.
I agree with the article Dan posted without reservation. But I'm going to avoid any religious discussion. As one who believes in a creator, but not a Christian, I tend to get shot at from both sides. May The Sheep Be With You
I have been reading this thread and thought i would weigh in. I have talked to so many people that have the same questions you do. It does seem a bit contradictory at first glance that God says he will bless those who serve him, yet bad things happen to good people all the time. However there is a very simple explanation for why that is. Simply put...God does not control the world. That may sound strange....after all God created the world and everything in it....why would he not be in charge of it? Well in the Bible it speaks of who really has the pursestrings of the world. 1 John 5:19 says very plainly "the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one." Obviously the "wicked one" can not be God. That person is the devil. God cast him out of heaven down to the earth when he rebelled against him...and he has been controlling it ever since. Humans are imperfect and sinful, and therefore cannot be expected to make the right decisions all the time in their life. But being created with free will. God is not obligated to interfere when a person is in trouble. When tragedy or hardship befalls a person, it does not mean it is gods will for that to happen....that they deserved it or that it was karma. On the contrary, the Bible states at Eccl. 9:11 "the swift do not always win the race, not do the mighty win the battle, nor do the wise always have the food, nor do the intelligent always have the riches, nor do those with knowledge always have success, because time and unforseen occurrences befall them all." Human suffering and tragedy is a result of either poor decisions, or sometimes it's purely an accident. God never promised to save people from that. I hope that makes a little more sense.
