Apples of Gold

Brad and I recently took a trip to another state. To help pass the time he had YouTube on in the background. This particular broadcast was exposing the sketchy teaching of some of America’s most popular preachers. While many of the clips were disturbing one bothered me deeply. This leader was actually saying that he had given God a large sum of money so that God would owe him and now God was in his debt. The crowd he was speaking to recognized this was not a biblical teaching and left shouting anathema… Sadly, not even close. They absorbed his words like a dried out sponge craving moisture. They eagerly applauded his audacity, failing to exercise even a hint of discernment or basic understanding of the character of God and the nature of his relationship with us.

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Romans 5:6

Oh how arrogant we can become when we forget where we came from. Utterly helpless sinners, rescued by the undeserved sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. If God never did another thing for us, the price of our salvation would put us in a position of indebtedness that we could never hope to even begin to repay. My friend, God is not in your debt. Every beat of your heart and breath in your lungs is given to you by the mercy of God.

David gives us this reminder:

Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me. Psalm 103:2

The enemy will remind you of all the sacrifices you have made for God and try to convince you that he owes you. That he should have to give you what you want. Hezekiah played that game and it didn’t go well.

About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amos went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the LORD says: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.” When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD. “ Remember, O LORD, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly. But before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, this message came to him from the LORD: Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people. Tell him ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and three days from now, you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of the LORD. I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own honor and for the sake of my servant David.’” 2 Kings 20:1-6

Yes, Hezekiah got what he asked for but the extra time that he pled for was spent in thoughtless giddiness as he reveals his entire treasure to the Babylonian envoys resulting in devastating loss.

“The time is coming when everything in your palace-all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now-will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon’s king.” Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “This message you have given to me from the LORD is good.” For the king was thinking, “At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.” 2 Kings 20:17-19

The temptation to leverage our service to God as a bartering tool can be all too real. Listing our merits to the Lord coupled with our expectation that he now owes us and should grant us our request puts us in a precarious position. Notice Hezekiah became consumed with his own welfare and cared little even for the consequences that his own sons would face. After hearing some of them would be taken captive and spend their lives as servants, rather than weeping and pleading for them, he finds complete satisfaction in the fact that he will have peace in his lifetime.

Perhaps this reaction reveals a rotten root that can cause us to want to direct God rather than allow him to direct us. That root is selfishness. Whether we want more time, money, fame, or a position the focus becomes our over-estimated self-worth and personal merit.

There are two ways to look at the following Scripture:

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Psalm 37:4

One view is that if I delight in God he will give me whatever I want. Another is that if I delight in God he will put his own desires in my heart. I don’t know about you but my heart cries for God’s desires. I have been through enough to know that he is far wiser than I. My Bible clearly tells me that he is always looking out for my good. He sees the end from the beginning and trusting him is never going to steer me wrong.

God is not in our debt but thankfully WE are in his!