There are many who have not yet heard of the Gospel of Jesus Christ or even the Name of Jesus and who still need to hear the Gospel. There are also people who have heard of the Gospel of Jesus Christ but are reluctant to accept Christ and hesitant to profess any belief in Christ, not because they are fearful or ashamed of Christ, but because they have not actually come to accept Christ yet.
Even among those who profess Christ, most are not willing to fully surrender their life fully to Christ and who still want to live out their own lives and pursue their own will. They want an easy life, full of wealth, treasure, pleasure, and leisure, and justify this mindset that God is a God who wants to bless us with such things to enjoy. Why so? They are fearful of the cost of following Jesus. They are offended at the idea of the cost of following Christ.
Jesus often spoke about what it means to follow Him and the cost of following Him, which are among the hardest teachings to accept (Luke 14:25-35). So resistant are most professing Christians to this teaching about surrendering all to Christ through detachment from the world, that they accuse those who teach such a doctrine of being ‘self-righteous’ or ‘Pharisaical’.
These Christians often use the blessings and promises of the Old Testament to justify their theology, known as ‘Abrahamic theology’, claiming that things such as abundant wealth, a happy, lifelong marriage, and a large family are the highest blessings from God. They claim, whether directly or indirectly, that if people do not possess any or all of these, that they are less blessed or less favoured by God. However, this theology is absolutely erroneous. It is a doctrine of demons!
Many adhere to Abrahamic theology without even realising it. They are deceived. They are often people who have a simplistic, literal understanding of the scriptures and do not use critical thinking and lack all manner of discernment to be able to detect any error in doctrine. They are often anti-intellectual, and lack the analytical thinking to critically examine any purported theological doctrine. They often emphasise grace, but lack a right understanding of the concept.
Adherents of Abrahamic theology often use verses in the Old Testament that refer to the abundance of wealth possessed by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as God’s restoration of Job’s loss, both material and family, to justify their view that such receiving such goods are ‘blessings’. They artfully devise all kinds of arguments to justify their position that wealth is not only a blessing, but a sign that they are more blessed than others who have less wealth, all smug behind their wealth, money, possessions, and assets. They also use verses in Genesis to justify the idea the marriage and family is a blessing, rather than a calling, indirectly implying that those who are unmarried are suffering a loss or are under a curse. This is also based on serious misinterpretations of the verses that they base their false doctrine on. The idea that such goods are blessings is itself problematic on many counts.
The Smugness of Professing Christians who ‘Have it All‘
Many professing Christians think that to be blessed means to enjoy all manner of wealth, treasure, pleasure, and leisure. This mentality that material, earthly, temporal goods so-called are blessings, has instilled a sense of superiority and self-satisfaction in Christians in have it all, inciting much hostility and animosity towards such professing Christians.
It has also led to much deep pain in Christians who do not have it all, especially those who have unfulfilled desires for things which are good. Unfulfilled desire is painful and this demonic doctrine that such things are blessings only adds to their pain. These Christians who are smug about having it all only add insult to their injury by their sense of superiority for possessing abundant wealth, being happily married, and having a large, loving family with many grandchildren, as well as living a comfortable life free from all earthly struggles. Instead of suffering with them, they selfishly rejoice in their own earthly happiness and selfishly expect others to rejoice with them, dismissive of their pain and suffering.
Many Christians also suffer discrimination in the Church for being seen as ‘less blessed’ owing to this doctrine of demons. They are treated as inferior or even pariah for being poor, divorced, widowed, never married and childless, struggling with infertility, having a child with disability, or struggling with addictions. Such people often treated with disdain, seen as a threat to one’s comfortable lifestyle. Those who are discontented with their lives owing to not having it all are treated patronisingly, and their disappointment, griefs and pains dismissed as the result of the gluttony, envy, pride, selfishness, or lust in their own hearts. They are simply lectured, often by Christians who have it all, to learn to be more content and are presumed to have sinned and therefore have ‘missed out’ on many so-called blessings, while they arrogantly enjoy what they have, instead of suffering with them.
Poor people are often denied financial assistance by many professing Christians for being presumed to be lazy in being unwilling to seek employment, or self-entitled. They are often castigated for even wanting to seek financial assistance. Divorcees are often blamed for their divorce and presumed to have ended up divorced because of a lack of holiness on their part. Sick people are often treated as a burden by many. They are often just told by others to endure it, who do not even lift a finger to comfort or console them. Never married people are presumed to be a threat who want to destroy the marriages of the smugly married Christians, simply for being unmarried, and sometimes even presumed to be homosexual.
Whenever people who are mistreated or discriminated against complain, their complaints are dismissed, voices silenced, and not only blamed for their problems, but treated as the problem. Many suffer in silence because no one hear their cries. The reason that few are sympathetic is because many people are self-satisfied about the blessings they have received, causing them to not only become proud, but justify their pride in being so ‘blessed’ and despise others perceived to be ‘less blessed’ on the basis of false theology. Such thinking is the result of Abrahamic theology and its many pernicious perversions, which has subtly twisted the very concept of what it means to be blessed.
Many Christians often think that to be blessed means to have all the wealth, treasure, pleasure, and leisure they desire, to enjoy life on earth, as God intended it to be. These Christians very often exclusively use Old Testament verses to justify their warped, perverted theology. Their complete lack of reference to New Testament verses is itself very telling of their false theology, ignoring what Jesus Himself said about what it means to follow Him and what it takes to enter Heaven.
What is a Blessing?
A blessing is God’s favour and grace upon a person. It is that which comes from the heavens above and heavens alone. Importantly, it is that which cannot be obtained through one’s own efforts, labours, and works. Anything that can be obtained through one’s own efforts, labours, or works is not a blessing as the term is often understood to mean in modern parlance.
As James 1:17 states, ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights [God], with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.’ This verse indicates that there is not a single blessing in the proper scriptural sense, that one has been endowed with that is not endowed from Heaven above, as indicated in the phrase ‘every good gift and every perfect gift is from above’. Importantly, this does not mean that all that one has is gifted from God, in the proper scriptural sense of being approved and granted by God. Many things that people, including Christians have, are obtained by pursuing such for themselves by their own efforts, labours and their own strength, rather than received from God. Anything that one obtains by one’s own pursuits is not a blessing, as blessings are that which are received from God, rather than pursued by oneself.
Blessings are that which reflect God’s character and endowed to whomever He endows it to, so that they may use it to glorify Him, and thereby reflect His goodness. These blessings may come in the form of spiritual gifts, such as the gifts of healing, prophecy, and teaching. These may also come in the form of natural gifts, such as certain talents or aptitudes. These include musical talent, literary talent, articulateness, or intellectual brilliance. Since blessings are endowed from Heaven, and not from oneself, one cannot earn it through hard work. One may and, in fact, should, work hard to build up one’s talents for good, but the natural talent or aptitude itself is endowed from God. Others who do not possess such talent or aptitudes may try to work hard to become good at something, but they will never surpass those who have that natural talent or aptitude and who work equally as hard to build it up.
Similarly, in the case of spiritual gifts, these can only come from God, and are a matter for God’s will to endow. People who possess certain spiritual gifts will simply possess it without having to work for it or even pray for it. People who possess these very often never asked or thought of asking for these spiritual gifts. They often do not realise the spiritual gifts that they possess, demonstrating that such blessings can only come from God by His grace alone, and that it is for God alone to determine to whom He endows His blessings.
God endows people with various blessings, whether spiritual or natural gifts to display His glory through them. Spiritual gifts are granted to people who are advanced enough in the spiritual life to exercise them to do good to others. The more powerful the gift, such as the gift of intercessory prayer or prophesy, the more holy a person must first become to receive them from God. It is not that his holiness earns him the spiritual gifts endowed to him, but rather that because he is holy, he is fit to exercise the gifts he has been granted.
Blessings are never given by God to any person for his own vainglory or selfish ambition. To use these blessings for one’s own vainglory and selfish ambition is a misuse of the blessings God has given to one. Using the blessings the God has for one to practise evil is an abuse of His blessings. Whether God decides to remove these blessings from people who misuse or abuse them is His prerogative, in which sometimes He does and sometimes He does not, for His purposes.
The Errors of Abrahamic Theology
Abrahamic theology purports that earthly, temporal things are blessings from God, or a sign of being blessed or favoured by God, often justified on the basis of Old Testament scriptural passages referring to abundance that the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob enjoyed. Abrahamic theology is a species of the so-called ‘prosperity gospel’ which manifests in various forms. Abrahamic theology forms the theological foundation of the modern ‘prosperity gospel’. It is a problematic theology for a litany of reasons that has caused much confusion and frustration in people, and many to lose their faith.
Firstly, it implies that blessings are material. While physical things or acts are neither inherently good nor evil, the idea that any material thing is a blessing in itself is completely erroneous. Material things can be earned through one’s own efforts and are often earned through ungodly or immoral means. The acquisition of such things through one’s own means indicates that such are not blessings whatsoever. Possessing such things are not a sign of God’s favour, nor can such things ever be blessings in themselves. That earning such things may not always be easy is beside the point. Therefore, it is patently wrong to say that ‘God has blessed me with a car’, or ‘God has blessed me with a house’. Such statements demonstrate a complete lack of understanding as to what it actually means to be blessed.
Could God endow a person with material things, including money? God may indeed endow people with money and other material possessions, but where He does so, it is because such are to be used to exercise virtue. Critically, it is not such things that are blessings in themselves, but rather that the use of such to exercise virtue is what is means to be blessed. Being endowed with any form of material possessions obliges one to practise works of mercy and do good works, not to enjoy and indulge in it for oneself. As Saint Paul taught:
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
(1 Timothy 6:17-21)
It is clear in 1 Timothy 6:18-19 that people who have material possessions are obliged to be ‘rich in good works’, ‘generous’ and ‘ready to share’, for in doing so, they are storing up true eternal rewards in Heaven, which is ‘truly life’. The Greek word for ‘enjoy’ in verse 17 does not mean to indulge in hedonistically as it is often understood in English, but rather to derive the advantages and benefits from. Saint Paul is instructing rich people to not only disavow indulging in the use of their possession for their own pleasures, but to use their wealth serve those who are disadvantaged.
That God endows people with things that they ask for in prayer so that they may use it rightly and not enjoy it for themselves or indulge themselves is made clear in James 4:2-3: ‘You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions’. The blessing lies only in the exercise of virtue where God will reward a righteous people both in Heaven and on earth, even in this life.
Secondly, it implies people who are poor, unmarried, childless, ill, or who endure much suffering in some way, are less blessed or less favoured by God. The idea that people are ‘less blessed’ because they do not have such is problematic and exactly what is causing much discontentment and dissatisfaction in so many professing Christians. It is not because of envy that such people feel this way. It is because the Abrahamic doctrine of blessings teaches people that they are less blessed by God, that is, less favoured by God, if they have less of the things that are deemed ‘blessings’ according to this heresy.
The Abrahamic doctrine of blessings implies that if people do not possess or receive all that which are regarded as ‘blessings’, they are under God’s curse in being judged and punished by Him, or that He has neglected them, and loves them less than others who do have everything. This doctrine is extremely hurtful and patently insulting towards to who do not have all such things. It follows from this faulty premise that while God loves all, God loves some people less as indicated by their purported lack of favour as indicated by having less of what are deemed to be ‘blessings’ or ‘signs of blessings’ from God. Those who have less, are ‘less blessed’.
Truth be told, it is totally false to claim that God loves any person less than others, as God is a God who created and loves each and every single human being equally. God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11; Acts 10:34-35). Since God is no respecter of persons, God not only does not, but cannot, favour certain people while disfavouring others as proponents of Abrahamic theology and double predestination claim. Thus, He cannot ‘bless’ some people with earthly material things, but not treat others equally in the same way, as it violates His nature as one who is no respecter of persons.
Furthermore, plenty of ungodly people enjoy earthly temporal things in abundance – abundant wealth, plentiful money, a happy marriage and family, respectable career, and even a long life – in spite of their rebellion and their wickedness. To claim that such things are blessings is therefore to imply that God favours the wicked and the ungodly when they do have such things, but this is obviously false. While God is gracious towards the ungodly and wants each and every single last one of them to be saved, earthly temporal things are not blessings or a sign of God’s favour (Matthew 5:45). Nor is marriage and family a sign of God’s blessing as many Christians think. These are callings and part of God’s will for a person’s life, rather than a sign of His favour or a reward for their righteousness.
It is the out of the fleshliness of the human mind that people not only treat such things as a sign of God’s blessing or blessings in themselves, and arrogantly think such things are for them to arrogate for themselves, and claim such to be a sign of God’s favour upon them which are for themselves to enjoy, even having the gall to demand others rejoice for them, and castigating anyone who rebukes their pride as envious or hateful. The spiritual mind, on the other hand, properly perceives that blessings are not found in what can be seen, but what is unseen. It perceives that blessings are the eternal, heavenly, and the intangible because it has wisdom from heaven above, rather than the wisdom born out of the flesh that seeks only to justify its own lusts.
God’s Favour is Not Found in Earthly, Temporal Material ‘Blessings’
All earthly, temporal, material things are of no eternal value, and therefore are not blessings in and of themselves. To claim that such things are blessings is to reject the eternality of the life and its abundance that God wills for humankind. It is to have a low view of what it truly means to be blessed. It is to be blind to the true abundant life which lies in the spiritual richness of the eternal life to come.
Such things are given by God for the person who receives them to be used to do good to others. It is only when good is done for others that the receiver of such things is blessed. For it is better to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). He is blessed because he does good and earns rewards in Heaven and on earth, not because of possessing material things or being endowed with whatever God has given him. Blessings are the eternal rewards that God grants to a person for their holiness and good works by their merit.
Jesus said: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)
The cost of following Christ is high indeed, but the cost of not following Christ and enslaving oneself to the ways of the world is even higher.
Choose Christ, not mammon. Seek Heaven, not the world.
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