Monday, October 27, 2008

Like the Unbelieving


Newsweek contributor Lisa Miller, writes in the "Belief Watch" section - and her recent article was titled "What’s God Got to Do With It?:Her relationship advice is retrograde dross. Submit to your man, or at least pretend, and then do what you want."

The "her" in mentioned in the quote is Victoria Osteen, the wife of teacher Joel Osteen. Lisa is referring to Victoria's new book "Love Your Life." If you would like to read Lisa's article - go here.

One quote in Lisa's article jumped out at me as I read. While referring to the ministry of the two she states, "the theology driving all this success is thin." In other places, there are observations of self-seeking methods and attitudes that the Osteen teaching is latent with, even right down to tricking her kids with donuts to get them to go to church. And then we come back to the title of Lisa's article "What's God Got to Do With It?"

Though you may not see immediately what you and Mrs. Osteen have in common, I fear to point out that we all are more like her than we would want to be. Though I have not spent time in her home, or have never gone out to coffee with her - I have to observe, if Lisa Miller represents her honestly, that Mrs. Osteen looks far too much like the rest of the world. She her attitudes and ideas reflect much of the same methods that the lost of the world hold. She is looks just like the sick, bodies and hearts heavy with the burden of sin - objects of God's wrath. Like the unbelieving.

Here we find ourselves. I pray that we are not altogether without hope. Most of you who read this blog profess to believe that Jesus is the only way to be reconciled to God. Yet I wonder if in our homes we look much like the unbelieving of the world.

We are just trying to get through each week. Not missing calendar dates. Packing lunches. Forgetting to return phone calls. Short tempered with our husband and children. Thinking mostly of our lists. Giving little thought to the needy and poor, and lost. Exhausted as we go to bed. Exhausted still as we wake in the morning. We just get through the day.

Does your day look any different than your unbelieving friends? I pray it does.

Challenge yourself to spend sometime asking God what He might have you do this week in order to set yourself and your family apart for His glory. I am confident it will also be for your good.