Don't
put your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. What good are they?
-- Isaiah 2: 22 (NLT)
It is not just in romantic
relationships that we see false hope being put into other people. For
Christians (as well as the world) far too much hope is given to politicians.
The problems we face in this world are spiritual -- not carnal. There are no
spiritual candidates. I remember when George W. Bush took office the enormous
hope that rose up in the evangelical community. How did that work out? Not too well
because we should not place our hope in any mere human. That includes our
pastors. Not too many like to discuss this but there is an epidemic of pastor
worship in this country. So many come to church every week because of the
charismatic leader and not the omnipotent God. Mega churches are springing up
everywhere led by dynamic individuals, motivational speakers, or self-help
gurus. They carry a Bible but it is mostly for show. The modern church has
placed a lot of its hope in carnal theories of church growth designed to "meet
people" in their fallen culture. Meet people in their sin. Make people feel
better about themselves. It is not only the mega churches though. Far too often
we worship the pastor so much we cannot see the things of God anymore at the
top of our priority list. The results are people sit in apostate churches,
carnal churches, and secular churches and sing kumbya -- not even realizing that
it is not God they are worshipping. Because their hope is not in Him -- it is in
the pastor or the church building itself. God did not want us to form community
for the sake of community. He wanted it so we could collectively worship Him!
Is it any wonder then why so many fall away from the church when their pastor
is discovered to be human? A pastor makes a mistake, sins, falls from grace and
suddenly half the congregation goes back to the world or stops going to church.
Why? Because their hope was not in God -- it was in man. So when man fell, their
hope failed. Don't put your trust in mere humans.
The last area we tend to place our
hope in is instead of God is ourselves. The world sells the notion of
independence as something to pursue and crave. It rewards independence and
criticizes the need for help. Even this election cycle we are hearing a lot of
criticism for people who are not working or need to pull "themselves up by
their bootstraps." Self-reliance leads to pride. Then we can become our own
best hope. When we start thinking we know so much we do not even need to pray
to God. Remember the rich man who went away sad because Jesus told him to sell
everything he owned? What did he first try to do when he came to Christ? He
tried to justify himself! Even to the point of absurdity when he claimed to
have kept all of the commandments since he was a boy. We too can fall into this
line of thinking within the modern church. We start to think we have "arrived."
There are too many Christians who walk
with limited humility while shouting hallelujah and the hypocrisy is not lost
on the world. That is not who the
I tell
you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the
Little children are not self-reliant. They have placed their hope firmly in the hands of their parents. THAT is what God is seeking from us. That is what the key verse is getting at when it speaks about hope. God doesn't just leave it there though. He provides the secret for us to ensure that our hope remains in the Lord. Our soul must say that the Lord is our portion. I love that Jeremiah (author of Lamentations) specifies the soul. Where our emotions are housed. Where we doubt, where we falter, where we fear. It is easy within our spirit to say the Lord is my portion. It is easy to sing it at church on Sunday. But it is when we need God desperately on a Wednesday night that He needs to be our portion as well"deep down in our soul.
What does it mean to say that the Lord is my portion? Our portion means He is enough for us. We do not need anything more. We do not need anything else. When the world comes with their solutions we immediately reject them saying "No I have the Lord, He is enough." When the world hands you a pill or a bottle we immediately reject them saying, "No, I have the Lord, He is enough." When that attractive co-worker threatens your marriage by flirting with you in the office, we immediately reject them saying, "No I have the Lord, He is enough. It is a matter of satisfaction. The truth is that we live in an insatiable world. The world pushes us to want more and more and more. To never be satisfied with what we have. What does God say?
Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think
that wealth brings true happiness! -- Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NLT)
Those who put their hope in money
will never have enough. How many stories do we read of pro athletes who made
millions of dollars when they played going broke after their career is over? It
is not just money. It is anything we place before God in our lives. It is
anything we hope in before we hope in God. Just look in the realm of marriages.
Adultery starts with God and the covenant we make with Him not being enough for
us. We have our spouse but we want more. The world encourages it and mocks the
commitment of marriage. The devil whispers in your ear that you somehow deserve
to have an affair! How many Christians have said absurd things such as, "I just
fell out of love with her No! You just got greedy! God wasn't enough for you.
You had to have more and more until it cost you something.
We have a career but are always
looking for a better opportunity. We have a car but are looking at the newer
model. We have a new house but wish it were bigger. We want more and more and
more because he who dies with the most toys"
