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God’s Gravy Train
aNNa’S NoTe: I wrote this a few summers ago.
I meant to post it, but it never happened.
But I think it’s worth posting, even years later.
I met a man this past weekend. He was… interesting. You see, I typically don’t meet people while camping – I don’t LIKE people, so I tend to AVOID people, other than a ‘hi’ (or a nod) as I pass them on the road. But my mom, on the other hand, has to talk to EVERYONE, as if they were her friends. I don’t get that… I really don’t. It actually sometimes embarrasses me, like when I’m in the public restroom there and hear her come in and chat with someone at the sinks… and continue her conversation thru the stall doors. I’m sorry – I have sacred rules about my potty time. I’m astonished other people don’t, too. Anyhow, she struck up this conversation with a guy (on the beach, not in the restroom), and – by association – I got to ‘befriend’ him, too.
He used to be a camp host, but once upon a time there was a man who had a heart attack out while he was hosting, and he ‘shared the Gospel/Salvation message’ with the man, and the ranger found out about it (from the victim’s wife) and they were told they weren’t allowed to wear religious symbols, have them at the host site, and/or talk ‘religion’ with the campers… so they quit. ((Anna’s red flag #1))
So my mom (who LOVES to talk about how ‘blessed’ she is with people who have ‘faith’) starts telling him how God cares so much for her, that he got her a motor for her pontoon for a fraction of the price… stopped her from buying a more expensive one by making her credit card not work at the store, and led her to the perfect motor. God cares for the sparrow, He cares for her pontoon, too. And the man looked at me and said, “I do sermons for businesses” ((Anna’s red flag #2)) – ?!?!? – and just finished a series on how if you ‘do’ for God, He will ‘do’ for you.” I blinked and processed and didn’t even bother to smile. ((ANNA’S RED FLAG #3.))
If you do for God…. SAY WHAT?!?! You’re telling me that apparently Paul didn’t ‘do’ for God, because he was imprisoned, flogged, boiled, beaten, stoned, thrown out, tortured, and more? How about Stephen – he was pelted to death with ROCKS for what he ‘did’ for God. John Bar Jonah… tortured and exiled for decades to an island? Funny… I don’t see anyone getting cheap motors in the Bible as a ‘reward’ for their service to God. Moses was hated by the people, exiled from his parents, disbelieved… Abraham and Jacob and Noah were mocked and derided and had to leave their homes, families… everything they ever knew behind! They did for God…
My Savior said that we should ‘take up our CROSS’ and follow Him. That “you will be HATED for My name’s sake”. THAT sounds more to me like what happened to His followers over the centuries. So… what the HELL is this ‘theology’ that if we do good things for God, we’ll be ‘blessed’ in every way possible for it?
I have news. I have been telling the Truth about Christ here for going on nine years now. I’ve been ostracized, chewed out, bitched at, mocked, derided, harrassed… I’ve had covens send demons my way in order to get me to shut up. I’ve dealt with angry wiccans, angry Chrischuns, some really stOOpid satanists… I don’t believe in fuzzy, feel-good christianity. In fact, I’ve left christianity for Messianic Judaism because I couldn’t tolerate the contradictory statements like this anymore.
Y’know what I think? ((And yes, I’m a hardass, but..)) I don’t think that guy had faith at all. He had ‘blessings’ and floated on them. But what happened when the world rose up – did he stand up and meet the challenge for the sake of God? No! He quit camp hosting! THAT’S a testimony? I’m supposed to be impressed with a quitter? As far as I know, there’s still freedom of speech per the constitution… yet his ‘faith’ sure didn’t stand the test, did it?
And as for this ‘do for God and He’ll do for you’ crap… that sounds terribly conditional to me. Does that mean that if you DON’T do for God, you won’t get a cheap pontoon motor? I’m… sorry, but I don’t quite have the capability to think like that…
Worse yet? Follow my thinking… if God’s M.O. is to TRY our faith (see Romans 5, James 1:2-3, etc.)… if we’re to be strengthened by the fire and have the dross burned off us by tribulation and troubles… if His goal is to – by these means – teach us perseverance… then what is the opposite of this Biblical truth? The OPPOSITE would be what Satan provides… a gravy train. Because he knows we always take the easy way, and that’s why scripture says ‘broad is the way and easy the path that leads to destruction’. So what am I supposed to think of the ‘christchun’ guy who gives me the million dollar grin and tells me that God gives good things to those who give Him good things? I instantly (being me, of course) am convinced that this ‘saint’ is directly from the host of pawns in Satan’s grasp. Because my God doesn’t promise a gravy train.
He promises strength. Honor. Suffering unto endurance. Grace. Internal peace. Mercy to those who love Him, and judgment to those who do not. Truth. Wisdom. I’d rather have those than a cheapy pontoon motor or flimsy, fake-ass faith any day, thanks.
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fiberaddict
/ September 11, 2008You are right, of course – but God also DOES give you things – he provided my house to me, for example. BUT – he didn’t HAND it to me, I still have to work to make the payments, He simply pointed to who I was supposed to go to to get it built. Ditto on my land – he led me to the right parcel. (And, yes – HE did those things – the signs were too unmistakable to be anything else. :wink:)
Gravy train? Nope….He does provide, but He doesn’t (in my experience, anyway) give you a free ride. Wish more people realized that – He’s not “santa god” like some people assume….
Blogging_Friends
/ September 11, 2008Many people mistake what they see as God’s blessings for a reward because of “what they do for God”. As if he’s a cosmic Santa Clause or something. Does that mean they aren’t true believers? Mistaken about ‘works’ and mistaking Satan’s crap as a blessing from God probably, but I don’t necessarily think they are Satan’s pawns, just weak in faith and not as knowledgeable in Scripture as they should be. The former camp host guy may have failed and didn’t persevere in faith and God’s calling to preach the Gospel in his job. How do we know that he wasn’t called to leave that position, it just didn’t look like that’s what happened? How do we know he wasn’t really called to be the camp host in the first place and needed to leave? Maybe he should have stayed there as camp host and even though it’s too late now, maybe he needed someone like you to tell him that? Even if it wasn’t accepted well, maybe he needed to hear it anyway, from a knowledgeable and grounded believer? I know, I know, his comments and smile didn’t feel ‘right’ to you and you had “red flags” go up. But, failure of a believer not to perfectly answer, perfectly react and perfectly perform according to each trial and challenge that comes our way does not mean we don’t belong to God. The apostles who walked with Christ messed up many times. He was physically there to correct them. He left the Holy Spirit for us and we all still fail. There’s some growing to do when we mess up, certainly, but don’t we all have areas of faith we need to grow in? I pray that God sends someone to show Mr. Ex-Camp Host the Truth. You’ve had “red flags” go up on things I’ve said here and posted on my site. You’ve told me that. I don’t always like it, but I do take it and consider that I could be wrong. Maybe I’m totally wrong about this guy, I wasn’t there. But, I certainly don’t want to let a fellow believer continue to walk a wrong path and believe some weird doctrine from the pit of hell. I would rather speak up and tell them. I don’t always, but maybe I should make more of an effort. Chris
circumstances_mean_nothing
/ September 11, 2008He sounds just like every other “christian” I’ve grown up with. Your mom’s comments, too. It amazes me that people actually think God exists to serve us rather than the other around or that we somehow deserve things just because we’re “good”.
erinjo
/ September 11, 2008“seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you…”
it seems to me that if we really are consumed with seeking God, we won’t be paying attention to the “things” that will be coming our way anyway. in fact, that’s the idea. a relationship with God is its own reward.
“Because my God doesn’t promise a gravy train.” – love this, Anna.
laurie
/ September 11, 2008I think when suffering comes this gravy train mentality doesn’t work and life can spiral out of control and suddenly life doesn’t “work” anymore and everything can come apart….. But, just read some excerpts of this post to my teenage and he said,” Well people think that because of Prroverbs.”
MTnesting
/ September 11, 2008Did you tell him? Did you ask him where he found that in the Bible? He is another unfortunate soul that has fallen into the hands of many churches perversion of Christianity. A perversion that has more to do with controlling people than teaching truth. (ranks right up there with”God helps those who help themselves”…what so he doesn’t help those that are too wounded to find their way to him? ) ((yikes)) guess they are just outta luck! except luck is for rabbits. (sorry, I digress) I believe that you can accept Christ and believe completely wrong doctrine. But since He is in us, he will lead us and work in us perfecting us until that day. (He’s certainly brought me a long way and He still opens my eyes moment by moment) It is possible for God to lead him to someone who will say, “hey, where is that in your Bible?” (no condemnation here, God is in control and if you were not prompted to speak, it may not have been yours to speak..your listening skills are usually pretty good from what I see) to prompt him to dig. A place where we need to come along side of believers that believe lies of the enemy and point to the truth of Christ!Chris is right…there are a whole bunch of people looking for the Santa God…I for one, know that Our God is infinitely better than ANY Santa God. But this guy hasn’t grown to see that yet and is probably surrounded by many that haven’t as well. Probably why he isn’t working as a host any more…he doesn’t sound as if he is equipped at this time. But GOD!
Anna
/ September 12, 2008You guys… in case you haven’t noticed the entirety of CHRISHTIANTY (yes, spelled wrong intentionally) is WRONG DOCTRINE. That’s what I’ve been telling you for YEARS, now. If you claim to love Him, you HAVE to keep His commandments… and the commandments are TORAH – the Law! What else was He talking about when he said, “if you love Me, keep My commandments”? I might as well pull a fish out of the lake, tell it about God’s Truth, and throw it back. That fish couldn’t care less. Oblivious. Not ready to be unplugged.
Remember The Matrix? That’s Christianity. Millions of people, completely unaware that they’re living a lie. Did Neo stop every person in the Matrix and tell them the truth? Point out the glitches in the system? You can’t do that. It doesn’t work that way. Those people who are freed are those who see something is wrong, know it, feel it like splinter in their minds… THEY are open to the Spirit’s prompting. Everyone else is of the Matt 7:21-23… they practice ‘lawlessness’… and um, the LAW is TORAH… yeah. So I’m not so sure that people can accept Christ and believe completely wrong doctrine. In fact, I think that’s why Messiah said, “NARROW is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
Anna
/ September 12, 2008((I’m in the house ‘cuz it’s raining, critters needed tending, and I hadda come home and help Brian pack for Chicago. He leaves in 7 minutes. We’re not back.))
amber
/ September 12, 2008can you blog about this some more?? like, what is my cross…how will i know it… how do i carry it…i dunno…this is something i would like to know more about, but i need your help, if ya can.
also..totally off this topic..how did Jesus know he was Jesus? some guest pastors said he studied the old testament as part of his Jewish upbringing and that is how he knew he was Messiah. this thought has never occured to me before…it’s kinda wiggin’ me out. waddaya think?
Anna
/ September 12, 2008is the omniscient (all-knowing) God, that He didn’t need Torah to know He was Messiah? I think your pastor needs a lesson in logic. That’s one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. I’m kewl with Yeshua utilizing Torah to prove who He was (He did this regularly), but He certainly didn’t need it to figure out who/what He was.
Don’t worry about your cross. When you actually take up the Truth, your cross will be more than apparent, believe you me.
GidgetPeke
/ September 12, 2008A lot of these people are also the ones who when things begin to fall apart- lose their faith.
motherofmanys
/ September 13, 2008What you wrote reminds me of a lesson I heard about Hebrews 11, and how the people who were blessed for faith never actually saw the fulfillment of the promises given (verse 39). The test was how strong their faith would be if they did not get what they were expecting. Abraham did not live to see his heirs numbered as the stars. Moses did not get to enter the Promised Land. But they knew the promises were good as gold, because Yah does not change his word. The difference is His scope reaches beyond human perception. Their rewards are instead eternal, which is so much better than anything temperal, you either totally get it or are totally lost. The chasm is that deep.
MTnesting
/ September 13, 2008@Anna – I am sorry, you are right…about the wrong doctrine. If the definition of doctrine is a code of beliefs taught by the church .(that could be different from one church to another)..I just meant that I believe that you can have CHRIST IN YOU and not have everything right. surely your not saying that you think that you have it all together and “know” it all when you become a follower of Christ? You probably still have things that you are being taught and at this time and believe are right even though they are not (not pointing a particular finger..this is in general)… maybe this is his thing. We are a work in progress… are you not still learning more daily about Truth…TRUTH IS CHRIST? Truth as opposed to doctrine. I am glad that he didn’t leave me in the state that I started in. I was a know it all, very cut and dry and a rule follower..for ALL the wrong reasons. I was not a Christ follower at all. Since then, he has done some amazing things in my life, but I am still growing and learning to appropriate the things He has already given me and apply them, requiring less of me and more of HIM. (and in that…I follow His commandments and for that reason, not because I’m suppose to, but because I WANT TO)I understand your angst against Christuns Anna, and I’m certainly not going to disagree that the church as a whole has done a very poor job at teaching Christ instead of teaching the ways of men with a Christ spin. Perversions! But GOD is in control and He knows our hearts and If we are earnestly seeking Him, then He has promised to work in us. He is for us!! Our Job…seek HIM! All else will be added!Hope this cleared up what I meant by the first comment…or it could be clear as mud still!
Anna
/ September 14, 2008:vvv: