My top ten list of one-size-fits-all
gospel.
1)
God
wants you to love your neighbor. I know this
is one of the two greatest commandments in the Bible. And it never hurts to
preach it over the pulpit, almost indiscriminately. But at most times, the
individual context is just as important. Of course, we are called to love our
enemies the way Christ loved his. But this is often easier said than done. And we
are also called to love others with God's love (not our own) but such vicarious
loving often sounds better in theory than in practice. That being said, I think
many Christians should be applauded for their unstinting efforts to do just
that. Yet most times, the reality is far from the ideal. I have encountered
many Christians (most would be slow to admit this), even pastors mind you, who
have quietly kept and secretly guarded a little red book of "blacklisted people" in their breast
pocket. Let’s just say that given a choice they would rather not share a broken
down lift with these people or be caught offguard meeting them in a family
outing at the park. The awkwardness would force them to put on a disingenuous smile
and initiate a superficial exchange of pleasantries. Although this blacklisted
book may contain just one or two thorns in the beholder's side, they are still
perplexing thorns that are often carried over to their grave. I guess
ultimately we are called to love one another as God loves us. But I think that
pulpit message should be tweaked a little. Maybe it is more livable if it is
not a communistic kind of love, that is, to love everybody equally. Maybe it is
a passion of varying degrees. Maybe this is obvious. And if we are honest
enough, the passion reserved for those thorns that have made their permanent
residency in our side would somehow be moderated or at least unconsciously
discriminated.
2)
God
wants you to be healthy. Nothing can be closer to the
truth. God indeed wants all of us to be healthy. My mother also wants me to be
healthy. This also includes my wife, kids and friends. I particularly extend
the same well-wishing to them. Such sentiment is heartwarming. But sentiments
cannot be purchased for reality. No doubt the intention cannot be faulted as it
is clearly a default position for every child of God. The fact of life, or
biology, is that cells mutate prenatal, postnatal and in the course of living. Some
of these mutations can turn fatal. So, whether we are sick or not, or whether
it is a temporary affliction or one that is terminal, nature will have to take
its course. And sometimes the course that nature takes might just break many
hearts. But then, as Christians, we are called to believe in divine healing.
That much can't be denied and I will be dealing with this point below.
3)
God
wants you to be happy. This is the best part of believing
in God. I call it the reasons-to-be-happy belief. But such happiness is subject
to many interpretations. Sadly, some preachers take the easy road and interpret
this as the happiness that comes only from material wealth. And many are
naturally disillusioned when they don't experience such happiness in their
life. Personally, I have seen happiness in many forms and the most authentic
and enduring happiness is the happiness that comes from unhappiness, so to
speak. I guess the happiness that comes from a contented heart, even when one
is struggling with an affliction, falls under this category. How about a godly
form of happiness that comes from being persecuted for your faith or being
hopeful in the midst of a trial or being charitable in the face of the most uncharitable
circumstances? All this would qualify as authentic happiness. I think happiness
is deepest when it cuts the deepest and God's kind of happiness sometimes cuts
through our comfort zone in a way that transforms us completely rather than it
pampers us materially.
4)
God
wants you to be the head and not the tail. Well, this
makes it to the one-size-fits-all list because not all heads are deemed godly and
not all tails are deemed ungodly. I guess one can lead others and mess it up
big time because of pride and others can follow the leader and grow stronger in
character because of humility (regardless of the leader). I think it is
misleading to preach that God would make you a glorfied leader when you believe
in Him. Sometimes, things don't go as plan and you may end up playing the
supporting role for the rest of your life. But this doesn't make you the tail
any more than sleeping in a garage makes you a car or attending a museum makes
you an exhibit. This head and tail thingy is an hackneyed motivational talk
that promises more than it delivers.
5)
God
wants you to release the hate and forgive now. This may be
a feat for the gods for some. Of course, it is easy to overlook a verbal slight
spoken out-of-place and wholly unintended. But how do you overlook the hurt
caused by a betraying spouse, an abusive husband, an unrepentant rapist, a
convicted murderer, or a conniving good friend? Time is of essence here.
Sometimes, for some wounds, it may take close to a lifetime. And you can't
blame the one forgiving for taking such a long time because the conscious
choice to forgive always comes way before the full resolution of the deep unconscious
pain that is caused by the wrong. But the good news is that every day that goes
by militates against the pain, like chipping off the edge of a boulder by
droplets. It is therefore impractical to expect an overnight emotional healing
when the hurt is so deep. Sometimes, such deep hurt might take what seems like
an eternity to find, confront and forgive; and possibly never forgotten.
6) God wants you to be rich.
This is all the rage now. Prosperity preachers with all their material "bling
bling" are pitching this sales jingle as if it is one of the hallmarks of
a true believer. So, if after 5 to 10 years of being a believer, and the only
thing rich about you is your calories intake, then you'd better get your money
pulse checked by the money minister. Somehow, something must be wrong with your
faith, so the jingle goes. Well, I do not want to be a wet blanket here but if
riches is what the gospel is all about and nothing else, then all the disciples
of Christ and the converts during the time of Acts, who gave away all they had
for the poor, were the greatest fools who had ever lived on this side of
heaven. I think sometimes we have to get our heads out of the offering bag and
take a good whiff of reality around us. The truth is that many will not die
rich and some may even leave this world having nothing to their name except
their name. And what a name they leave behind. Bonheoffer was one such name. He
may have died in a nondescript location but his legacy is as rich as all the
riches in this world put together, if not more.
7) God wants you to be successful.
I am reminded of the biblical story of Joseph and that trite quote in Genesis
50:20, “you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” There is no
doubt that God wants the best for us and it is said that if we obey His
commandments, we will prosper like Joseph. Now, before we go whoop-de-doo about it, I think that
scripture needs to be taken in its proper context. The impression given here is
that a believer will be successful; he just can't help it. And the definition
of success differs little from the personal enrichment touted by the prosperity
preachers. Little needs to be said here except that there can be no enduring,
life transforming success without failure. And this is often the huge mass of
iceberg beneath the water that gets conveniently passed over. When success is
promised to a new convert at the pulpit like a toto ticket to fabulous fortune, it runs the risk of making success
the sole reason for believing. I personally believe that the ladder of success
is often broken at many places. This is how God develops our character. The
climb is going to be tough and there will be many obstacles along the way. At
times, genuine success will elude us until we have emerged stronger, with
better character, after a series of failures. At other times, success will be
staring right at us in the curious eyes of our children, in the passion
expressed by our spouse, in the commitment shown in our friends, and in the eternal
hope of a promise made by the lover of our soul. In the end, the success in our
life comes in varied forms and those who are most successful are usually those
who are at peace with what they have and with whom they are with. The rest is
success' consolation prizes.
8) God wants you to be healed.
I actually believe this with all my heart. But sadly, things don't always flow
in the direction of my heart's desire. Nothing is more certain in life than
death and that thing that afflicts you just before death. Like twins, death and
illness are unavoidable. If granted the indulgence, and brought to the level of
reductio ad absurdum, I can imagine that the preachers of charismatic
healing are right. God indeed wants to heal all and sundry, regardless and
whatever. Then, the aftermath of it is either an immediate celebration or a
long distance nightmare, depending on whether you are the victim (or his loved
ones) or a demographic analyst (dealing with long term population explosion).
As a Christian, supernatural healing is definitely one of the traits in the
divine resume. But it is not something that arises as of right and
effected as and when a prayer is offered as if to apply a miracle lotion to
one's affected body part and "presto!" - complete healing. The
charismatics have gone wild with this peculiar gift and those boasting of it
are laying hands with the misguided confidence of a shamanistic healer. Think about it...I mean really think about it with your God-endowed commonsense (really please do).
If it is that simple, that is, all you need is childlike faith, a simple laying
of hands and a self-assured proclamation, then one should not hesitate – not even
for a second - to hold the healing services in a hospital, preferable the
A&E or the ICU department (leaving the morgue alone for now). How about the
children cancer ward? Now you can't say that it is not urgent for them, can
you? You see, that is the litmus test of indiscriminate divine healing. And if
one passes that test with flying colors (that is, emptying the hospitals and
making all doctors redundant) without exception and those spiritualized
excuses, then we would have to make plans to colonize Mars in the near future due
to overpopulation (because the total number of people who had ever lived since
the beginning was estimated to be around 100 billion – give or take a few
million). It’s a stretch no doubt but I think you get the point?
9) God wants your marriage to last a
lifetime (and live happily ever after). I have seen
the statistics on this and it is ugly. Religion aside, nearly 50% of marriages
in god-believing America ended up in divorce. In Singapore, it is close to
about 40% (median age, 2012). This is disheartening and being a Christian will
not guarantee that your odds will be any better. Sure, a devoted couple whose
devotion is to God will probably lead a strong and resilient marriage. But the
marital road is a long and winding road and many may not even stay the course
when the going gets tough. Even Christian marriages break up and Billy Graham's
daughter is an unfortunate example. We should have no illusions about marriage.
The marital oath is no doubt a good launching pad for one of the most important
decisions of your life. But the marital flight or trajectory thereafter depends
on many things, most of which will conspire to break up the union. I know the
saying that a couple who prays together stays together. But at times, even
those who pray together cannot guarantee that their partner will not stray
altogether. We have to be realistic as the statistics don't lie. Having said
that, it should be noted that statistics paints the big picture. On an
individual level, we should always strive to jealously guard our own marriage.
It is definitely one of the most rewarding and enriching relationships one can
ever hope to commit in his/her lifetime.
10)
With
God, nothing is impossible (and what is impossible is all in your head).
This is the last one-size-fits-all gospel on the list. To be honest, I don't
even know where to start with this one. In a world of the most gratuitous
suffering imaginable, where birth defects abound and death and misfortune can
happen to anyone at just about anytime and anywhere without any reason whatsoever,
this biblical promise, if taken literally,
would mean that you will never experience any pain, death and disappointment in
your life, ever. The catchword here is “literally”
and most pulpit sermons don’t make the distinction because preachers do not want
to be seen by the faith-hungry congregation as diffident, unsure, or worst,
faithless. You see, if with God, you can do even the impossible, then,
considering that you are a righteous man, you would be praying for good health,
success and smooth sailing, amongst other fairly godly goals. And if these
blessings are granted to you as and when you petition for them, then you will
practically be immune from pain and suffering in this world. Now won't that be a real charmer? I know
I am stretching it a little again but my point is going to be a real downer for
most believers. I think any right thinking Christian would agree that in the
realm of endless possibilities, there will be many alternative possibilities
that will elude us. In our life, some choices are already made for us like our
biological condition at birth, our place of birth and our birth parents. Even
for those things that we have a choice in like our schools, our career and our
future partner, most times, unless we are born into immeasurable wealth, things
don't always go our way. It is without any doubt that sooner or later we
will experience a death or two in our life. We will also encounter failure here
and there, like road bumps along the way. We may also suffer life changing
events that will force us to make very painful choices. All in all, as
Christians, we will be praying for deliverance to the chorus of "with God, nothing is impossible".
But the truth is, some things are beyond our control and they happen very much
without our permission. And when it happens, it robs a part of our humanity. No
doubt we will recover and grow stronger but sadly some never do. Some wither
away. Others change for the worst. This is another commonsense fact. And all
this will not change the ironic fact that the most powerful supernatural being
in this universe who loves us most immeasurably would mysteriously leave our
desperate petition unanswered. Even the prayers of a righteous man would
sometimes backfire. There are just too many examples here to prove this. Over
the centuries, many prayers were left unanswered and the petitioner would just
have to lower his expectation to pray for strength to brave through his trial
rather than the faith to see it all go away like a bad dream (which is the apparent better option in the list without the benefit of hindsight of course). So, while many have experienced
victory in prayers, there are still many who have seen how their earnest
heavenly mails were returned to them seemingly unopened. Of course, what doesn't
kill us will make us stronger. But sometimes what is impossible remains in the
impenetrable realm of the impossible, and we will just have to come to terms
with it. And here's how I personally come to terms with it: In the beginning,
God did the impossible. In the end, He's going to perform another impossible,
thoroughly awe-consuming, feat. But in the meantime, in the murky middle, we
will just have to accept that anything is indeed possible, whether good or bad,
and sometimes, the God of the impossible just allowed it to happen for reasons
unbeknowst to all. And on this cliff-hanging note like the end of a movie that cries
out for a sequel...Cheerz.
