The Cycle of Spiritual Success
God, Christ Jesus & Money: Americans hold ideas of prevailing extremes – we see this in the US in the promises of the “Health and Wealth Gospel” – if you pray and ask God, he will give you a mansion, a car, buy your children’s way through college, etc. Conversely, there is a group emerging that embraces the vow of “poverty” as a culture. No WiFi or Starbucks for them. If it involves money, it’s not trustworthy (that is, of course – until they need a place to sleep or something to eat). People will preach these ideas with passion from the front, and others will live out these beliefs in silence.
And there is no shortage of critics. Many will condemn Christians for holding such worldviews on both ends of the spectrum. Different flavors of Christians pick each other apart over these differences everyday.
It remains highly probable that you operate out of one of the following worldviews:
1) Resources are limited (scarcity)
-or-
2) Resources are abundant (provision)
It also remains highly probable that you do not fit into the “Health and Wealth” Gospel or the Gospel of “Avoiding All Money”.
Just look at the sunshine, the great oceans, the vast canyons, the cool breeze, and you’ll see God’s role in our lives includes that of creator, provider and sustainer. On the other hand, when we look at the prevailing injustices that continue to incur in the world, we wonder precisely why there is such a scarcity, an imbalance.
The imbalance caused from injustice
and the imbalance caused from excess
all come from
a position of comparison.
We focus on other people; we compare ourselves alongside others – sometimes mindlessly, sometimes obsessively. We “rank” ourselves in some self-composed continuum.
Where did we learn this orientation? How did our understanding of God and the world shape our decisions? What breakthroughs do we dream of seeing? What constraints do we long for? When will we say, “This is the perfect amount (of money, food, sex, power, family)” and truly mean it?
“Health and Wealth Gospel” aside, God provides. He continually creates us.
When we play the “Do I measure up?” game with our peers (real or imaginary), we operate out of fear and we view God as fundamentally limited, the God scarcity. (And fear remains a powerful motivator!) When we appreciate God and listen to / connect with Jesus, we are on a trajectory that generates mutual compassion.
When we position our eyes
on Christ Jesus
on God, the provider,
He will be our balance.
He will give us peace & joy.
Here is a sneak peak at the Cycle of Spiritual Success.
There is more where this came from inside the online course, MESO.
Hope things are going well for you guys, and I look forward to seeing you soon!
Rusty Wimberly 11:09 am on August 29, 2010 Permalink
enjoyed this article. i think it addresses clearly some of the issues we struggle with on a daily basis. I personally have run into both camps and find it hard to bring balance to one or the other. Interestingly, each perspective has something to bring to the other. Its unfortunate how the enemy seeks to keep a spiritual wedge in between us to prevent advancement. I also took a look at the ‘meso’ courses your providing. I love the concept! Keep up the good work in Chicago.