Flipping through the Bible (actually, I’m not just flipping through because it’s difficult to read that way) I’ve noticed that the upbeat, optimistic, positive thinkers are often the people I’m told to avoid. Sure, there are some encouraging verses about casting my cares on the Lord and leaning not on my own understanding, but I’m seeing a whole lot of suffering, mayhem, and despair on those pages too.
If you get your scripture from popular preacher postings, you will conclude that the Bible is essentially a collection of fortune cookie messages compiled into an attractive, leather-bound book. There’s lots of positive talk about God lending a hand to make you richer and happier. Lots of encouragement to keep doing whatever you’re doing while telling your critics to go pound sand. And no matter what you’re going through right now, everything is going to work out great.
There is no reason to think everything will be okay unless you’re a Christian. The problem with fortune cookie theology is that it doesn’t mention the fate of those who spend their lives rebelling against God. Popular preachers mistakenly claim that EVERYBODY is destined to the same fate as those who belong to Christ. Cultural Christianity teaches that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to sinners and saints alike. There is no reason for the heathen to despair since God loves them just as much as He loves the disciples.
When you read the verses in between the fortune cookies, you get an entirely different message.
“John, you jerk! The Bible is full of beautiful promises! Why can’t you focus on the positive verses?”
The Bible is also full of dire warnings. Why don’t you focus on those? You won’t get the whole message of scripture by cherry-picking the verses that make you feel good. Your theology is built from pop psychology, mysticism, humanism, and post-modern devotionals. Everything is not going to work out great. If you don’t believe me, flip through the Bible.
“But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;”
(Romans 2:8-9)
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Numbers 16:28-30
“By this you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not my doing. If these men die the death of all men or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the LORD.”