The Problem of Wealth
Health and wealth preachers are always talking about “your best life now.” In his book, Your Best Life Now, the infamous mega church pastor, Joel Osteen, encourages believers to dream big dreams. If you have a small apartment, pray for a big house, he says, and God will give it to you: “God wants to give you your own house. God has a big dream for your life” (35). Oh my.
Some of you may read these words and laugh. But the sad truth is that many people believe these lies and come to think that God really does want to bless them with all the earthly riches of this world.
What we read in Scripture, through, is just the opposite. The life of a believer should actually be difficult! I know that might sound crazy, and even a bit harsh, but it’s true. There is no promise of richly comforts for the Christian. There is no picture of ease and stability in Scripture. God never says that he will give us a mansion or a fancy car. There is no promised income bracket or special job. In fact, just the opposite is true, and the life of the Apostle Paul is a good example of this hard life.
The Life of Paul
Look at how Paul describes his life as he goes out to proclaim the gospel: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (verses 8-9). Yikes! Paul’s descriptions of difficulties cover the entire spectrum of senses and experiences: he has suffered from bodily pains (afflicted), mental confusions (perplexed), he has been socially insulted and rejected for his faith (persecution), and has been physically attacked (struck down).
This sounds like the exact opposite of Joel Osteen’s promise of a big house, right? Paul is saying that because he has chosen to follow Christ, he has experienced great losses, not great gains; because he calls himself a believer, he has had things stripped from him, including his very clothes, his reputation and his dignity; because he prioritizes the gospel, he has been rejected, not accepted. Paul is not rich, popular or living a life of ease, and he is our model for our own lives.
This picture of the difficult life of a believer makes many people uncomfortable. And to a degree it should. For we all need to ask ourselves, “Why would any believer want to sign up for a life of pain, heartache, rejections and even death? That doesn’t sound fun at all!”
The Way of Christ
Paul’s reason is that such a life was first chosen by Christ. Jesus’ path is lonely and narrow. He himself suffered first and, if we follow his path, we too will inevitably suffer as well. But, the beauty of this reality is that, when we suffer, we share in our Lord’s sufferings.
In fact, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:8-12 that our sufferings and trials should be so great that it is as if we are being crucified alongside Jesus: “always carrying in the body the death of Jesus” (verse 10). This is an incredible statement to make, and one that should cause us to pause and seriously consider our own life! Do we carry in our bodies “the death of Jesus”? Could you say that the experiences in your life could be likened to Jesus’ crucifixion with all of its physical, emotional and mental agonies?
To be clear, Paul is not telling believers to be sadists, actively seeking out pain and torture.
But he is making a bold proclamation that our life of faith should not be an easy one. Indeed, Paul is constructing a paradigm in which greater gospel proclamation will bring about greater suffering. So, if you are living a life of ease and comfort, something is actually quite wrong. In fact, if you are living a comfortable life, enjoying all the things that earthly riches can buy, you are not living out the gospel at all. And that should scare you. Because that reality is a damning reality.
There’s still hope
Thankfully, Paul does not leave us in despair. His own life is full of hope in that, throughout his difficulties, he has never been “defeated” or “destroyed”.
He is, of course, speaking on a spiritual level. For, when he died and continues to die with Christ – both in the act of coming to faith and in his continual sanctification – he receives greater and greater life: “For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you” (verses 11–12).
This is one of the beautiful mysteries of the gospel: the more we die, the more we will live. The more we die to our self and are willing to undergo deep suffering and persecution, famine and rejection, for the sake of Christ, the more Christ’s life will take root in us. We are joined with Christ in the moment of faith and yet Paul also says that, as we live out the gospel, our bond will grow deeper and richer.
Do you want to know the real secret to “your best life now”? The secret is this: If you want to have the richest, fullest, greatest life (and, by that we mean a spiritual life that is intimately tied to Christ), then you must be willing to put to death the rich, full and great things of this earthly life for the sake of Christ, the gospel and His kingdom.
There is no promise of richly comforts for the Christian. There is no picture of ease and stability in Scripture. The life of Paul is proof. Click To Tweet
