"Send in your love offering today and Expect Your Miracle!"
Yesterday's post was about the confusion between my 23 year old nephew and his dad over money. Dad is not confused in the least, and Nephew will be better off when he gets unconfused. That situation will play out over time, as it always does from one generation to the next.
There is also a Christian version of the same confusion, which comes from taking single bible verses and half-sentences out of context and building a theology around them. The poster child for this confusion is Philippians 4:19, where the bible really does say, "My God will richly fill your every need in a glorious way through Christ Jesus."
But Philippians as a whole is a congratulatory and complementary letter (the only one of it's kind in the bible) written to a group of people who, at least from Paul's perspective, were living life right. They were devoted to Christ and to Paul with sacrificial commitment, courage and faith. All Paul is really saying in the quote is, "Thank you for your gifts on my behalf, and I know that our God will bless both the gift and giver because that is His nature and bias." If the context of the whole letter, Paul is really just saying, "I'm very proud of you."
This, and a hundred other scriptures misused similarly, are not a license to go through life with the same mindset my nephew has about his dad's money. God is not a candy machine, and anyone who prays a prayer, gives a couple of bucks and expects God to pay off is headed for disappointment.
On the contrary, the concept of "forget not all his benefits" (Ps 103:2) is about knowing that our God has already done great things in and around our lives, and those great things are just the beginning of a great process in which we participate by his invitation and our choice. It doesn't really matter whether I have a lot of money, because He is the source of every good thing. And my connection to 'every good thing' is my very relationship with Him regardless of my checking account balance or how old my car is.
And in the context of my relationship with Him, my respect for His way of thinking, living, giving and being, His love, grace and providence for all men (and me) and His character, wisdom and sovereign power, "My God will richly fill every need in a glorious way through Christ Jesus."
I hope that makes sense.