Casual Christianity Confuses Positive Thinking With Spiritual Zeal

Let me testify for my faith is not casual nor reserved for certain days and times of worship. At all times, I believe that the Father - Yahweh - sent His only begotten Son - Yahshua - into the world to lead, heal, teach, be crucified and raised from the dead. I believe Yahshua the Messiyah has been bodily raised from the dead and He is more alive than you and I.  What I believe about this amounts to who and what I am in everyting I do and say.

Romans 10:1-3 'Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to Yahweh for Yisrael is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of the Creator, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorantof Yahweh's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of the Creator.'

We live in tragic moral times. As millions are forced into poverty by the will of the people's chosen leaders and by a culture of consumer greed, the well-to-do blame the unemployed working class, calling them "lazy and unqualified." There is no understanding, mercy, kindness or clemency in their caustic pronouncements. The wealthy simply believe that the unfortunate poor don't have enough zeal, enough education, to get ahead in life. They are not worthy of their consideration or graces.

Thank goodness for the graces of our Lord and Savior.

Sadly, the wealthy ones who call themselves Christian, are ignorant of the message sent to them through Christ. They may be members of a church board, attend every service and host Bible studies, and yet they fail to realize that their zeal is misplaced.

As Christians in a freedom-loving democracy, casual loyalty to the King of kings is often viewed by by those on the wide path, as worthy, appropriate and enough. It doesn't matter to many that class war wages, that racism continues, that poverty grows, that fornicationa and adultery are rampant, and corporate malfeasance endures.

No, the mass of casual Christianity gathers in the churches on Sundayto hear sermons that say they are okay even when they are not believing and behaving any different than the worldly. The favor of "God" makes their worldliness somehow different.

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"Until you learn how to enlarge your vision, seing your vision through the eyes of faith, your own wrong thinking will prevent good things from happening in your life." - Joel Osteen (1)

The casual Christian has missed the whole point in being Christian.

A casual Christian sees the Creator as someone who makes "good things" happen in the lives of believers.

John 6:38 'For I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.'

Our life in Christ is about Christ - not us.

We cannot be truly zealous about Christ if we concern ourselves with living happy, wealthy, successful lives.  We have to be willing to edify the Lord the way He wills us to edify it - not the way we decide to do it.

Would Joseph have chosen the path He had to go?  Would Job?  Would Jonah - Abraham - Issac - Samson - Noah - Jeremiah?  Hmmm - Would Yahshua hath chosen His path?  How else do you explain Christ in the garden of Gethsemane asking His Father to take the cup from Him - but if not - Thy will be done.

In Matthew 16:21-26, Peter is admonished by Yahshua for questioning the will of Yahweh.  Yahshua calls Peter an adversary - Satan.  The Lord's righteousness is not our righteousness, for our righteousness is as filthy rags.

1 Corinthians 10:22-23 'Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?  Are we stronger than He?  All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient:  All things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.'

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The first tale Joel Osteen tells us in his book "Your Best Life Now," is the inspiring tale of Tara Holland who became Miss America in 1997.  After failing twice to win the Miss Florida pageant, she didn't give up.  She "rented hundreds of videos of various pageants and watched them over and over again."  She then moved to Kansas, won that pageant, and went on to win the Miss America title.  Mr. Osteen tries to equate her persistence and positive thinking with Christian faith by saying ". . .she would never be a winner until she first saw herself as a winner . . . She had to develop a can-do attitude." (2)   Further down the same page he adds, "God wants us to continually be increasing . . . God wants to increase you financially, by giving you promotions, fresh ideas, and creativity."

1 Corinthians 10:21 'Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils:  ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table and the table of devils.'

Now I am not trying to demonize a girl's desire to win a pageant, nor the pageant itself - one of my own daughters entered one of these contests several years ago.  No, what I am pointing the finger at is the imaginary equation Mr. Osteen constructed which balances a zeal for success in the world with the zeal one has for the Creator in the name of Christ.  The zeal Tara Holland exercised was self-serving and anyone who works hard can obtain the same type of success.  Many people imagine success and work hard to obtain it.

What prosperity preachers are good at, is injecting a few choice Bible scriptures into their worldly teachings.

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John 13:12-17 'So after He had washed their feet . . . He said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?  Ye call Me Master and Lord, and ye say well; for so I am.  If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.  For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you . . . The servant is not greater than his lord . . . If ye know these things, happy are ye.'

I find it very interesting that Christ said, "if ye know these things."  If we look back at Romans 10:2, we see that some have a zeal for their Creator but not according to knowledge - in other words - not according to what has been taught.  There are people who establish for themselves a form of godliness that makes sense to their desire to be successful; and they willingly make compromises between the Lord of the table and the table of the devils, between carnal pleasures and spiritual bliss.  A design to be wealthy is carnal and evil, and is no different than committing adultery.  You have forgotten your first love.  Read on.

James 4:4 'Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with Yahweh?  Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of Yahweh.'

A casual Christian is not about to embrace any sort of spriitual zeal that will make them uncomfortable and cause them to risk their position and reputation in society.  A casual Christian wants to do and say just enough to be saved by Christ while living comfortably and safely in whatever society exists around them.  There is no zeal to resist the world and its temptation.  Casual Christians prefer to learn the ways of the world and make it work for them.

Romans 13:14 'But put ye on the Lord Yahshua the Messiyah, and make not provisions for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.'

Perhaps we are just too accustomed to having more than we need, and faith has become a stumblingblock and foolishness.  If we can "plan" for the future - why put faith in the Lord to do that?

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James 4:13 'Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain.'

This verse is addressed directly at the prosperity preachers, at the positive thinkers, at the industrious, at the Christian who thinks godliness is evident in increase.

James 4:14 'Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.  For what is your life?  It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little while, and then vanisheth away.'

We need to get humble and embrace the truth about our human vanity.

Please understand that I am not dismissing the power of positive thinking, just mankind's personal amendment to it which serves to outlaw the Creator's will.  Prosperity preaching circumvents the Creator's will by predestinating the Creator's will, and essentially preventing Him from having the power to intercede and interfere in daily life.

"To experience this immeasurable favor, you must rid yourself of that small-minded thinking and start expecting God's blessing, start anticipating promotion and supernatural increase."  - Joel Osteen  (3)

I emphasized "favor" for that is the evil part of this message.  For Christians such as this, the only sign of "God's" will being accomplished in a person's life, is favor that results in promotion and wealth.  Verse 16 of James 4, however, calls such boastings 'evil,'

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James 5:1-2 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.  Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.'

For many, these miseries will not be realized in this life.  Psalms 73 tells us how in life, such are not in trouble like other men, how pride covers them, how they have more than heart can wish.  For these Christians, Satan is no longer the enemy - poverty is.  And if poverty is the enemy, Satan can tempt them to turn bread into stone, and bow to him in order to obtain all the glory of the kingdoms of the world.  How many Christians really believe it is okay to do a little evil in order to accomplish many good things?  That is human righteousness trumping the Creator's righteousness.

In his second story in his book, Mr. Osteen relates a story concerning the desire he and his wife had to obtain a bigger home back in the days before they had any real wealth.  He says about this, "Start seeing yourself rising to a new level, doing something of significance, living in that home of your dreams." (4)

Hebrews 11:5  'Let your conversation be without coveteousness; and be content with such things as ye have.'

Psalms 37:34  'Wait on Yahweh, and keep His way, and He shall exalt thee to inherit the land;  When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.'

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In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the truth concerning the casual disregard many with wealth have for humanity is abundantly clear.  Many spend far too much time reasoning why people have needs and fret about helping them.  They are a drain to society and its prosperity.

Luke 16:25 'But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime received thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thee art tormented.'

A person who is zealous to do "something of significance" in this world, wants the goods things, the rewards this life has to offer.  As Christians, this can never have a place in our motivation to do what is good, true and right.

Good things in this life should not even be part of our resolve for whether we have good things or not, it is nothing to us.

Philippians 4:11-13  'Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content . . . I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound . . . I can do all things through Christ which strengthenth me.'

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Prosperity preachers and those that worship positive thought see "all things" as only "good things," things that make a person happy, wealthy and respectable.  This message is intended to seduce Christians, especially those who lack the zeal to suffer and endure anything for the gospel's sake. 

Self-determination is simply a deceptive way of saying, "I have no king."

And since you have no king, you are your own king, and your formulated form of righteousness judges and condemns the needy and helpless who burden your kingdom.  Anything or anyone that takes from you is evil and an enemy.

1 Corinthians 10:24 'Let no man seek his own, but every man another man's wealth.'

Yahshua washed His disciples feet to set for us an example of humility.  There is nothing beneath a Christian and there is no one unworthy of your care.  Do not count the cost or the burden.  If we all cared for one another as Christ asks us, then no one would have to care for themselves - Selah.

If you are zealous for Christ, then you are zealous to for anything that might help others - those in need.  The "vision" is not you winning, or you even in the picture.  The "vision" is people being led to Christ.

The goal after all is not to be comforted now, but rather in the hereafter.  If that is not your understanding of the gospel message, you might want to revisit the story of Lazarus and the rich man, and stop being so casual about your salvation.

Those that are casual about salvation are "lazy and uneducated" in what is most important in life and in the end, won't make the cut.  They may find themselves eternally unemployed.

Amen

Quotes above are from Joel Osteen's book, "Your Best Life Now."

(1) - page 6; (2) - page 5; (3) - page page 6; (4) - page 8