Question of the Month for November 2006

Am I asking too much of the Lord to have more money, a better marriage and good health?”

Our question this month comes from someone who asks, “How much should we expect from the Lord regarding our circumstances? My reason for asking this is because we are having a lot of problems in our lives and not much seems to change. It just seems like a broken record of unpaid bills, conflict in our marriage and health issues. Am I asking too much of the Lord to have more money, a better marriage and good health?”

I would love to give you a big hug right now. Your honest need reaches out to all of us. Your questions raise some important issues that every Christian has faced or will face. If we don’t face these issues in a Biblical way, it is very easy to get disappointed with the Lord and slowly become bitter. It has happened to millions, so don’t let it happen to you.

If you look at the history of the Lord’s people you will find something interesting that is NOT preached about much today. Most of them had a rough time of things. Hebrews 11 talks about what happened to many of the Lord’s people before the coming of our Lord Jesus. Of particular note is Hebrews 11:36-38 which states, “Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated- the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.” It certainly doesn’t sound like a lot of “blessings” by today’s standards.

Following this period from the Old Testament, we come to our Lord Jesus and His Apostles. All of our Lord’s Apostles were martyred, with perhaps the exception of John. The early Church saw tens of thousands of Christians tortured and murdered for their faith. This pattern has continued until today where we see Christians tortured and murdered in the Sudan by Muslim extremists. As a matter of fact, there are thousands of Christian martyrs EVERY YEAR all over the world. The reason we don’t know about them is because of a conspiracy of silence by the media. Such stories are not very “politically correct”.

My reason for mentioning some of these issues is NOT to make you feel guilty about having problems in your life. My reason for sharing these things is to give perspective as to what are reasonable expectations for the Christian life. Most of the reason we have such high expectations for the Christian life is because we live in America. Few nations on earth have so many expectations for life as do we Americans. Americans often expect the “good life” and are sad or disappointed when things are not wonderful in terms of our circumstances. To make this problem worse, there are some churches out there that promise blessings to the Lord’s people in terms of money and health. If you are not experiencing certain levels of “divine prosperity and blessing” then something is wrong with you and your “faith”. How sad!

The blessing of the Christian faith is to have the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, regardless of our circumstances. This is the abundant, spiritual life our Lord came to bring us (John 10:10) and that the Apostles enjoyed amidst their trials (Philippians 4:12). All of us will experience tough moments regarding money, health and interpersonal issues with others. In the end, this is just life and seldom has a direct, easy to connect message from the Lord. People who try to attribute every circumstance to some sort of spiritual failure or blessing are really missing the Lord. Yes, there are things that are related to things we do. For example, if we don’t work we can expect poverty. However, to always see money issues in terms of the Lord “letting us down” or “blessing us” really sets us up for confusion. I personally know some of the greatest Christians in this City who are broke. I also know several unbelievers who are healthy, wealthy and enjoying the “good life”. We simply cannot make assessment of what the Lord is doing, or base our happiness on our circumstances. It never works!

Turning to your specific situation, let me say this. You may be part of the answer to your own prayer and /or struggles. It has been my experience that sometimes there are some simple things we can do to really make a difference in our lives. If you are having some money troubles, maybe the Lord might direct you to take a class on budgets or handling money. Money management is a skill few of us have instinctively. You also mentioned some issues with your marriage. Once again, it might be helpful to seek wise counsel from someone specially trained in that area. All of this is not to say that these ideas are the answer to your problems. However, it is always good to give things a try and see what happens. You have nothing to lose!

Finally, remember you are a Christian! Remind yourself what you already have in Jesus. According to the Bible, you are already seated in heaven with our Lord Jesus and have every spiritual blessing in Him (Ephesians 1:3). Fall in love with our Lord again and take a fresh look at the Cross and His love for you. You have an incredible future in Him. Seek Him afresh today and look for the wisdom He will impart to you through others and His Word. His love, peace, joy, patience and kindness are yours as a free gift today, regardless of your circumstances. Smile, don’t you know God loves you.