Stewardship

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Fair Weather Faith
Habakkuk 3:17-19; II Corinthians 6:10

My, how the "faith" teachers love to rake poor Job over the coals. But it takes much stronger faith to trust God in adversity than in material prosperity.

What if a promoter of the Prosperity Gospel were to suddenly lose all the trappings of a "King’s Kid"? What if he became a victim of "corporate downsizing", got knocked clean off the corporate ladder, and ended up working at a fast food place because that's all that was immediately available? Chances are, he’d be bounced back down the "social ladder" as well, for carnal people confine themselves to their own cliques. What if the bank repossessed his car because he could no longer keep up the payments, and his peer-pressured children were ashamed to be seen riding in an old clunker he replaced his fancy car with? What if he had to spend months seeking a new job, and his children were ashamed of him?

Could he still praise the Lord even if the bank foreclosed on his fine home, and he had to pay rent on a run-down dump instead? What if he were had to cut up his credit cards and he could no longer afford to treat his friends to dinner at fine restaurants? Would his affluent friends quickly tire of treating him? What if he even lost his own health? Could he weather such severe storms, especially if they came in rapid-fire succession, like Job’s trials struck?

Most likely not. Those who have been wrongly taught to set their affections on earthly things would crumble and feel that they had somehow failed God; for according to Prosperity Theology, the perks of the Christian life are the fruit of faith. The poor guy’s fellow church members would, most likely, shy away from him so as not to be contaminated by his "negative confession".

Job suffered trials every bit as traumatic as these. One of his worst aggravations was the unjust criticism of judgmental friends. He got attacked spiritually by them, on top of being attacked materially, physically and emotionally by satan. With friends like those, Job didn't need enemies. Yet in spite of all his setbacks, he never turned his back on God or renounced his own faith. Could his smug, self-righteous critics have retained their trust in God if tried to the same degree? What do YOU think?

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