The Lie of Reward

I have recently witnessed a common attitude in two families close to me; and one that disturbs my heart. This misguided form of spiritual pride occurs when people are materially blessed - AND then assume that the blessing is a reward for their behavior. I believe this is closely related to the "prosperity teaching" in some churches. The assumption is that if I'm living in a Godly manner, doing everything right, and therefore deserve it, then God will bless me abundantly. Logically, if I have already been blessed abundantly (in a material sense) then I must be doing everything right!

Which of the lies buried within the previous statements should we debunk first? I hardly know where to begin... but here's an attempt.

(1) God does not operate under a system of rewards - He gave us the greatest reward there has ever been, i.e. His very self, while we were still sinners. He did not wait until we were "perfect" in order to reward us with salvation. We never could have earned it, nor can we now. There never will be another reward from God, because none is necessary.

(2) If God gave us what we deserved, we'd all be condemned to hell forever.

(3) If number (2) made you think, "Not me", then you are more deceived than the rest of us.

(4) God sees us all, every single person, exaclty the same. Consider your own children, and attempt to answer the question, "which one do I love most?" He is not able to favor one over another, but loves each of us the same. There is no way to "earn" greater love or blessing from God than He already has for you. However, you can learn to receive it better, in truth.

(5) You will never be doing everything right. Forget that line of reasoning, it's a lie.

(6) When you experience a crisis in the midst of your prosperity (not if, but when) - then what will you say about God? The converse of the above logical statement is that God is punishing you. What if you've done nothing to be punished for? What then? God just stopped loving you? He ran out of rewards? Job was, in the words of God himself, a righteous man - and very wealthy. He lost everything.

(7) God's definition of "blessing" is very different from ours - and likely has nothing to do with material possessions or comforts. Does God want you to be happy? Sure He does! Is he going to give you a lot of stuff to accomplish that wish? Probably not. To Him, blessing you means putting people in your life who love you for who you are, giving you ample opportunities to bless others, healing your relationships with friends and family, and giving you internal peace and contentment. The size of your house, the amount in your bank account, or the model of your car is not nearly as important to him as the state of your heart.

These are some difficult truths. In our human-ness, we want to believe that we can earn good things with good works. That is just how we are - but that is the human system, not the God-system. He is all about grace, compassion, love, mercy, and peace. The immaterial is His substance, and it is with these qualtities that He reaches into our lives and blesses us beyond measure.