Christian authors and publishers are starting to sound like Anthony Robbins and other self-help gurus – they hold the keys to wealth, health and happiness. Just follow their boxed program or say a rote prayer and enlightenment is yours. But the one book that offers true freedom and joy – the Bible – curiously is pushed to the back of most Christian bookstores.
Is that because God's Word does not tickle the ears enough to turn a profit? I'm not against all Christian books, but I believe the answers to life can be found in the Bible alone, which in most homes is collecting dust on the bookshelf. After all, God's plan for mankind is not that difficult to discern. The Lord says in Deuteronomy 30:11 that His command is not too mysterious, nor is it far off. Verse 14 says, "The word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it."
So what exactly is God's purpose for our lives? Is it to build lavish cathedrals, get noticed on Christian TV or write best-selling books? Does attending church once a week and dropping a tithe in the collection plate really impress the Lord? Yeshua says in Matthew 22:37-39 that the greatest commands are to love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind, and your neighbor as yourself. We can see this theme woven throughout Scripture, sometimes in a little more detail. Look at Micah 6:8 – "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" The Hebrew word for "good" is towb, meaning beautiful, best, joyful and sweet. We can see that this simple command comes deep from the heart of God.
Let's look at some more examples. Zechariah 7:9-10 says, "Execute true justice, show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother." God's chosen fast in Isaiah 58 is to cover the naked, feed the hungry and loose the bonds of wickedness. In Hosea 6:6, God says He desires "mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." In the New Testament, James 1:27 keeps it simple as well: "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."
Unfortunately, the church has twisted God's priorities and turned the focus back on itself with a seeker-sensitive, feel-good gospel. Most TV preachers seem more motivated by money than mercy. They woo donors with give-to-get schemes, promising bountiful returns to those who sow generously to their ministries. But the apostle Paul says in Philippians 2:3, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself." He exhorts believers in 1 Thessalonians 3:10 to comfort the fainthearted and uphold the weak. When the apostles release Paul and Barnabas to take the gospel to the Gentiles, Paul says in Galatians 2:10, "They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do." When was the last time you heard that heart response from the pulpit or on Christian TV? The sad truth is, you won't fill the pews or make anyone's best-seller list with such a selfless message. But without Yeshua's love and mercy, a believer's witness is nothing more than sounding brass and clanging cymbals.
Posted by Jeff King at January 25, 2004 11:56 AM