Easter Devotional - Day 42

"You were a healthy vine covered with grapes. But the more grapes you grew, the more altars you built; the better off you became, the better shrines you set up for pagan gods. You are deceitful and disloyal. So you will pay for your sins, because Yahweh will destroy your altars and images. 'We don't have a king,' you will say. 'We don't fear Yahweh. And what good are kings?'" Hosea 10:1-3

Prosperity and faithfulness to God often run counter to each other. That was the experience of the Hebrew people. When things were going well economically, they forgot their dependence upon Yahweh. When things were going badly, they blamed Yahweh for abandoning them. How ironic were those accusations! When things got bad, they would cry out to Yahweh for answers, and then ignore God in times of plenty.

The king was the military protector of the nation, in charge of national security. He was also the head spokesman for and to Yahweh. He was the one who would bring the people in line with God's will and priorities. He would represent the nation before God. He would then act as head prophet and priest of God before the people. This second aspect of kingship lay quickly forgotten. At the death of Solomon, the nation quickly drifted away from Yahweh. They remained concerned for political interests, but not with their responsibilities before Yahweh. The wealth and prosperity of Solomon's days put them on track to ignore God in exchange for their own issues of comfort.

Our own history is not so different. During periods of economic crisis, people would flock to our churches. During periods of abundance and wealth, our churches were often transformed from centers of worship to clubs for social gratification, entertainment, and patting ourselves on the back for success in a thriving economy.

When we prosper, we consider it the fruit of our labor, intelligence, skill, and the investment of our energy. When things go wrong, it is God, the economy, or other forces beyond our control. As we show little consistency in valuing our efforts and God's role in our lives, so our worship and dedication to God show little consistency, as well.

In the 1970's, Southern Baptists were on track with Bold Mission Thrust. Our churches were growing and our giving to mission causes was growing. Then we got off track with concerns over power and struggles for control of denominational agencies. We spent enormous amounts of money on our comfort and entertainment, while neglecting the greater purposes of Christ Jesus. Where we used to build hospitals, seminaries, and schools overseas, our missions spending decreased to much smaller investments in preparing disciples in our mission efforts. We took our focus off God's purposes to attend to the idols of our personal comfort and wealth.

The largest of our churches seem to have adopted the model of our society's focus on comfort and entertainment. The smaller of our churches seem to have focused inward on comfort and maintenance of the status quo. On both ends, we have too often ignored God and focused on ourselves, instead. Is it not time to return God to the center of our lives as King and Lord of all?

Consider where issues of prosperity and comfort may have taken your life's focus off God.

"Lord, help me to focus my life according to your priorities, instead of my own."

—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin

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