"Going"

"FOLLOW ME, AND I…."

Following is a brief quiz: Jesus said, "Follow Me, and I…

1. will make you wealthy."

2. will make you healthy."

3. will do nothing for you."

Is there just one answer, a combination of answers, or none of the above? The first two are advocated by those who preach the health and wealth gospel, such as Joel Osteen. The third answer would probably be espoused by an atheist or someone trying to run away from those who insist upon one or two.

The only answer that fits is none of the above, but let's consider the matter further. Why do people think they will receive wealth when becoming a Christian? Is there some precedent for that in the Scriptures? No. Many of those who became Christians at the very outset gave their money to the apostles to help those in Jerusalem. This action was voluntary, not required. But Jesus had not encouraged anyone to follow Him so that he would be made wealthy. Instead, He taught that one should take heed and beware of covetousness (Luke 12:15). Our lives do not consist in the abundance of the things we possess. None of the apostles were rich, either. Does anyone remember Paul talking about his villa on the Mediterranean Sea? Did Peter boast about his team of Arabian racehorses?

None of those things relates to the essence of Christianity. Today, those like Osteen practically guarantee a seat on the New York Stock Exchange upon following Jesus. Such ideas do not come from the preaching of the New Testament—only from charlatans who want their followers first to enrich them in order to get their own piece of the pie. Neither Jesus nor the apostles were wealthy, and they did not encourage their followers to pursue materialism. Jesus said that the deceitfulness of riches could choke the Word and make His followers unfruitful. Paul added that the love of money was a root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6:10).

Health?

At least there is a basis for this misconception. Jesus actually did heal people. He even raised a few (such as Lazarus) some from the dead. Yes, and the apostles healed people, also. These are undeniable facts. But that was an action taken—not a future promise. When Jesus went through cities, towns, and countries, He healed all who were sick. He never had to make up reasons why He failed. What He accomplished was the equivalent of entering a regional hospital and walking out with all the patients. Peter met with similar success. Just his shadow falling on people healed them (Acts 5:15). When was the last time anyone heard of a shadow healing service? Similarly, Paul worked "unusual miracles…so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them" (Acts 19:11-12).

With all the miracles that are described in passages like these, it must occur to people that, despite the fact that they happened then, they are not happening now. Where is the faith healer who is going into hospitals and walking out with all of the patients recovered? No one is trying to get Benny Hinn's shadow to walk past them. Nothing indicates that healing was going to continue beyond the apostolic age, and indeed no one can produce any evidence that it has.

Doesn't God still care about people? Of course He does. But God never promised to heal everyone with a health problem. Jesus Himself pointed out that in Elijah's day, when the famine was severe, Elijah was only sent to a widow in the region of Sidon (Luke 4:26). Does that mean God did not care about those starving in Israel? Only one leper was healed, and he was a Syrian (Luke 4:27). Why did not God heal the lepers in Israel? We do not always know the answers to those questions. God is Sovereign, and we trust that He knows what He's doing.

God loved Job, but he allowed him to suffer severely for a time. We have some insight into that one. God proved to Satan through Job that he was wrong in slandering this faithful patriarch (Job 1-2). The devil maligned Job, saying that he only served God because He had blessed him with wealth. When he lost it all, Job did not curse God. Satan further accused Job of only serving God because he had good health. The devil was wrong on both counts, and Job proved it. Sometimes the righteous suffer, but not due to any personal wrongdoing, as Job's friends insisted.

God never promised wealth and health to all His followers. If He had, who would not follow Him? People would become Christians for what they got out of it, physically—not because they loved God and were willing to put their faith in Him, no matter what.

Nothing?

Neither is it the case that Christians have absolutely no benefits for following Jesus. Most of the advantages are spiritual. Jesus, through His blood, is able to remove sins—the greatest burden man has. The faithful have the hope of eternal life, also. The riches of Heaven far exceed those on earth, where moth and rust can corrupt. But those promised rewards are intangible. Many would rather get what they can here—just in case those spiritual realities prove false. But Heaven will not disappoint in any way, shape, or form. And yet, Christians are physically blessed here.

The doctrine of Providence teaches us that God does provide for us now. We do not have access to knowing exactly how He does it. David commented: "I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread" (Ps. 37:25). Furthermore, God answers prayer. Although Christians are not promised across the board health and wealth, many, as a result of prayer, have had health restored to them and received necessary funds.

A Good Question

But the child of God can grow discouraged when he sees the wicked prosper. Perhaps a shady lawyer in town had made hundreds of thousands of dollars. He spends quite a bit at gambling casinos, and who knows how much he spends on his mistress on the other side of town? He has purchased things that a normal person just struggling to make ends meet will never have. He has purchased a yacht, a couple of Lamborghinis, and at least one judge. He knows where to spend the money and how to get what he wants.

Or maybe some feel bad because of those who have risen to fame on the back of corruption. Debbie Fisher sang about the sweet romance of "Tammy" back in 1957, but today's women of music are justifying kissing another girl, being born that way (as a homosexual), and feeling like (although obviously not) a virgin. Why are these people so popular, accumulating oodles and gobs of money?

Why are those who dump their spouses for a trophy wife so successful in business? How do some athletes get away with abusing women and still get to be the star of the team? How does a woman who had two abortions get named as civic leader of the year? Why does the employee who insults everybody she works with get promoted? How does a woman who slanders (without evidence) a man's reputation become exalted in the eyes of the public?

These questions have been asked before. Asaph, writing more than two thousand years ago, said that his feet almost slipped because he was envious of the those who boast and the prosperity of the wicked (Ps. 73:2-3). He erroneously thought that they were not troubled like the rest of us (5). Why, they possessed more than anyone's heart could even wish for (7). They feared not to speak against heaven, and "their tongue walks through the earth" (9). They can say anything they want and get away with it.

"Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning" (13-14). Yes, what's the use? Does it really pay to be virtuous and honest? Those repudiating these qualities seem to be doing quite well. They lie, swindle, and steal—and thoroughly enjoy their ill-gotten gains. God either does not see what they are doing—or else does not care. Discouragement produces this type of thinking.

Stinking thinking! Thoughts that arise during discouraging moments have the common characteristic of being distortions of reality. They do not reflect or resemble the truth. Asaph learned this fact—when he entered the sanctuary of the Lord (17). Evil people do slip and fall; they are destroyed—sometimes swiftly (18-19)! The Christian can take heart, after all. Things are not always what they appear to be.

Many years ago, someone brought up a farming analogy, which works quite well. The following account will not be exact; perhaps it is similar. Two men were farmers—one an atheist, one a Christian. They planted their crops and did their usual work. An unexpected flood wiped out a good portion of the Christian's crop. The atheist laughed and mocked him: "It isn't doing you much good to be a Christian, is it?" Meanwhile, the atheist's crops were thriving and promising to yield great profits. After the Christian replanted, progress was slow, and his fields seemed quite puny. One day his neighbor was ribbing him even more about God blessing the atheist. He enjoyed boasting of the great bounty he would surely receive. The Christian finally responded by saying, "It's not over until the harvest." Of course, the atheist's crops could have ended up blighted or destroyed with a fire. No one knew how things would end up until the day came.

Likewise, the Christians sows good seed while many others are spreading evil seed around. A few are as pernicious as those described in Proverbs 4:16: "For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; and their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall." But in the harvest (the judgment), it will all be sorted out by Him Who is just. Then many who have been wealthy, influential, and corrupt on earth shall forever be given suffering while the faithful shall be rewarded. As long as we dwell upon the earth, the harvest has not yet occurred.

"…Will Make You Fishers of Men"

Although Jesus did not promise to make us all wealthy and healthy, He did tell His apostles that, if they followed Him, He would make them fishers of men. Did that promise die in the first century? Many still try to be fishers of men, but some would be content to just be comfortable and not worry about evangelism. If that is the correct approach, then why publish materials and hold gospel meetings? We may as well circle the wagons and practice raising our flags of surrender.

When we think nothing can be gained by making evangelistic efforts, we have lost our sense of purpose and have latched onto the erroneous thinking of Asaph. Have we succumbed to discouragement in one form or another? Christians cannot let Satan win—especially through default. If we lose earthly battles, let it not be with a whimper. Is that the way the church ends (to paraphrase T. S. Eliot)? Jesus may not find much faith on the earth when He comes, but it can never be because Christians have given up trying. Let us imitate Paul and by all means save some (1 Cor. 9:22).