Prosperity and Pleasantness
If they listen and serve him, they complete their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasantness. But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword and die without knowledge.
Job 36:11–12
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Prosperity and Pleasantness
There is a train of thought within Christianity today which says that God wants to make you healthy, wealthy, and wise, so if you are God has blessed you, but if you are not then God is not blessings you. Therefore, you need to change your ways and become a better Christian and then all your dreams will come true. This idea of the prosperity gospel is not new. And it seems that Elihu is advocating for it here in these verses. So is this really what being a Christian is all about. Doing good deeds to be rewarded by God? It is important to listen to what is being said here. Listen and serve and be prosperous or don’t and perish. Seems simple enough, yet our sinful and selfish thoughts twist what is being said. We frame prosperity and pleasantness in human terms. What are the marks of a prosperous person today? Wealth, power, fame. The material things. But true prosperity and pleasantness are not primarily found in such things. Where they lie is in the comfort of knowing we are forgiven. In the understanding that even in the not so prosperous times God is not abandoning us but is there seeing us through them. Pleasantness is found in the gathering of the faithful around the Word and Sacraments. When we kneel at the altar to receive Christ true body and blood all social and economic distinctions go away and we are all poor beggars receiving a lifesaving gift. So, no matter your station in life, rich or poor, healthy or sick, the most important identifier you have is saved. Washed in the blood of the Lamb your treasures await you in heaven, as God grants forgiveness though Christ today.
Job 36:11–12
+
Prosperity and Pleasantness
There is a train of thought within Christianity today which says that God wants to make you healthy, wealthy, and wise, so if you are God has blessed you, but if you are not then God is not blessings you. Therefore, you need to change your ways and become a better Christian and then all your dreams will come true. This idea of the prosperity gospel is not new. And it seems that Elihu is advocating for it here in these verses. So is this really what being a Christian is all about. Doing good deeds to be rewarded by God? It is important to listen to what is being said here. Listen and serve and be prosperous or don’t and perish. Seems simple enough, yet our sinful and selfish thoughts twist what is being said. We frame prosperity and pleasantness in human terms. What are the marks of a prosperous person today? Wealth, power, fame. The material things. But true prosperity and pleasantness are not primarily found in such things. Where they lie is in the comfort of knowing we are forgiven. In the understanding that even in the not so prosperous times God is not abandoning us but is there seeing us through them. Pleasantness is found in the gathering of the faithful around the Word and Sacraments. When we kneel at the altar to receive Christ true body and blood all social and economic distinctions go away and we are all poor beggars receiving a lifesaving gift. So, no matter your station in life, rich or poor, healthy or sick, the most important identifier you have is saved. Washed in the blood of the Lamb your treasures await you in heaven, as God grants forgiveness though Christ today.
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