A Prophet for the People

¹¹ If a liar and deceiver comes and says,
'I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,'
he would be just the prophet for this people! –Micah 2:11

I just love when I find sarcastic comments in the Bible. This is a great one, isn’t it? It really speaks to the heart of Lutherans! But when we put the levity aside and look at what Micah is really saying, we see the truth.

Over the years the some of the most popular preachers of best-selling books, television and preaching circuits have been those who preach how you can get what you want from God. Some have espoused saying a special prayer as if it were a magic incantation. God would HAVE to use his “genie” powers because we “rubbed the lamp” the right way.
Then there are those that advocate “investment tithing.” This is a good one. If you give 10% of your income (preferably to this specific ministry) God will increase your wealth. Again, He has no choice. You give, He MUST give you more back.
Then there is the “persistent widow” or “squeaky wheel” tactic. If you pray about that $500,000 house you want 10 times a day, every day for however long it takes, you will eventually get it, because God will get sick and tired of hearing you whine about, so like a wearied parent, he will give in.

You gotta love it, don’t you? But it is so easy to get sucked in to this kind of thinking! How many of us choose our churches by what they have to offer US instead of how we can serve? If we were doing it the right way, we would seek a church in need of our talents. Instead of looking for a church with a great youth program for our teenager, we would look for a church that needs our skills with youth to develop a great youth program.

Let’s face it, deep down we all have that “what’s in it for me” attitude.  But once we find out what REALLY IS in it for me, we realize that all that other stuff is garbage. We didn’t really want that “stuff” after all. What we really wanted was what God has wanted to give us all along. Unconditional love. Forgiveness. Grace. Peace. Joy. And what’s more, we don’t have to pray a specific prayer or give a certain amount of money or nag Him about it. It’s all ours just for the taking.

Father,
Help us to recognize those deceptive prophets who tell us what we think we want to hear… those who appeal to our greed and our worldly desires. Open our hearts to hear the truth. Amen.

Joys: Having Kevin around on his break before summer classes start; "jammin' on guitars and singing with Cecelia; some cool weather before the heat of summer