Rarely will you meet a person who does not want to be successful. Rarely will you meet a person who does not have a narrow personal definition of success. For most people, the definition of success begins with something positive. Success achieves something or makes a perceivable difference. Success "looks" like success. Success "feels" like success. Success produces the "benefits" of success.
Christians are prone to form their concept of success on the basis of their society's concept of success. Therefore, too many Christians develop success expectations based on the social concept rather the divine concept. As a consequence, when events do not "go as expected" in life, a Christian can be bewildered and confused if he/she expects his/her physical ideal to happen. In some of the most successful (closest) relationships between a human and God in scripture, the person often suffered. Physical suffering does not equal divine injustice! Physical suffering and spiritual success are not mutually exclusive! A Christian can be spiritually successful and endure physical suffering!
Yet, success may do none of those things. When the results of your efforts produce depression, those efforts do not look like success. When your message causes no change or redirection, the message does not feel like success. When one of the products of your efforts is loneliness, you are not likely to regard your efforts as successful. Most people do not associate success with depression, status quo, or loneliness.
Belonging to God can produce results we often do not associate with success.
Jesus said in his sermon on the mount, "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:10-12). Jesus associated spiritual success in that first-century context with persecution, insults, and false accusations. He said regardless of how things looked or felt, disciples should be joyful because successful prophets (spokesmen for God) endured the same rejection.
Prophets spoke for God. The most successful prophets we know often endured horrible treatment at the hands of those they sought to help. The joy does not come from the human rejection, but from being dedicated to God and His values.
There was a time in American society that devotion to God was expected to produce (naturally, not manufactured) hardship. Not today! Spiritual success is expected to produce immediate, joyful benefits that look like and feel like success. God protects a Christian from anything he/she considers undesirable. God answers prayers in ways that deliver a Christian from personally undesirable situations. For a Christian, "good" ambitions will be achieved.
Christians need to exercise great care to allow God to define good instead of making their own definitions of good God's definition. Constantly be aware of the fact that a Christian does not resort to evil actions to produce what he/she calls good.
Really? No Christian is ever diseased with something like cancer, or dies in a car wreck due to the carelessness of a driver in another vehicle, or loses a desperately needed job, or has a natural disaster take his/her home? Prayer always delivers a Christian in Africa from evil people? Political events in Afghanistan never adversely touch Christian families? Roadside bombs never kill Christians in Iraq? Lawless acts never touch Christians in third world countries? Gangs never exploit Christians in the USA?
Have members of the class relate incidents where Christians experienced the physically horrible, but endured by faith in God. Have them also give examples of the physically horrible destroying faith.
In our country we have heard the "health and wealth" gospel in so many forms for such a long time, we are likely to accept it in some form. Never mind that we follow a crucified Savior, never mind that the early church produced many martyrs, never mind that we are taught by an apostle who was placed in more than one prison and was finally killed, that is not the way "it works" now. Faith in Jesus Christ will prevent the physically undesirable from ever happening to us! We wear the Christian armor! The fight against evil cannot cause us to die in the battle!
Note it is interesting that faith in Jesus Christ commonly resulted in physical suffering in the first century, but physical suffering is regarded as unthinkable today by those who wish to be "first-century Christians." Is there injustice in our suffering for doing good if our Savior suffered for doing good?
Jeremiah was God's spokesman. God selected and prepared him for a special task (see Jeremiah 1:4-10). His mission was not positive: he was to pluck up, break down, destroy, and overthrow in order to build up by planting (from seed to ripened fruit or grain is a lengthy process!). To make it worse, God told him no one would listen to his message ("God has had it with you!").
God told Jeremiah from Jeremiah's point of selection for his mission that his message would be rejected. However, Jeremiah was unprepared to endure the amount and kinds of rejection he faced. (We often want to put limits on what evil people can do to righteous people when evil people do not answer to God.)
Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet for good reason! Though he said precisely what God wanted him to say, his words made no difference. He endured insult, rejection, exploitation, and physical abuse because he cared enough to warn. His loneliness was so severe that he cursed his birth, despised the joy of his father at the announcement of his birth, and wished he had died in the womb. Yet, he successfully did what God wanted him to do. However, because he could not help the people he cared about, it did not look like, feel like, or produce the results of what he considered success. When people sin, love their sin, and are certain they will never suffer consequences for their sin, they do not listen to or like the person who warns them that horrible consequences are coming.
Christians typically want (1) to make a perceivable difference and (2) "fix" situations so they are no longer unrighteous. They struggle when (1) they are unable to see a difference (everything done seems temporary) and (2) nothing seems "fixed" in their lifetime. God often addressed situations that took generations to resolve, not just a lifetime (see 2 Peter 3:8-13). The situations will be changed when we are part of the place where righteousness dwells.
Many times we suffer the consequences of bad decisions, evil deeds, and sinful choices. None of us want to hear, "Consequences are coming and cannot be avoided!" We want to hear, "There are no consequences! Every situation can be 'fixed'! You have not done anything wrong, and the person who says you did is crazy!" To be the one who bears bad news to those who are guilty of bad lifestyles and choices is to be lonely and unappreciated. One may be successful in declaring precisely what God wishes declared, and, yet, may feel terribly unsuccessful.
Because we have experienced so many good physical things for so long, we expect only good physical things in our future physical life. Faith in God does not guarantee we will experience only good things physically. There is no better way for Satan to charge God with injustice than for believers to experience failed physical expectations.
Do not expect to produce good results in all you do for God! (Make certain your message is from God, and not from your own agenda!)
Simply because you care, do not expect others (even Christians) to perceive that you are motivated by a sense of caring. If what you are or what you say meets with rejection, always remember your faith is in God, not people.
For Thought and Discussion
Most people begin their definition of success with something positive.
Jesus associated spiritual success (in that context) with persecution, insults, and false accusations.
Jesus referred to the prophets to illustrate his point.
They expect spiritual success to produce immediate joyful benefits that look and feel like success.
Christians experience terminal disease, loss by others' carelessness, job loss, natural disaster consequences, suffering caused by evil people, political injustices, and victimization through violence or lawless behavior.
One reason is continued exposure to some form of the "health and wealth" gospel.
Jeremiah was to pluck up, break down, destroy, overthrow, and plant.
Jeremiah's words made no difference (prompted no change).
He endured insult, rejection, exploitation, and physical abuse.
He cursed his birth. He wished he had died in the womb.
We at times suffer the consequences of bad decisions, evil deeds, and sinful choices.
We should not expect to produce good results in all we do for God.
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 12