Spiritual Blessings Are Not Found In Material Things

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (Ephesians 1:3)

How many times have you heard the following statements?

“Feeling blessed.” “We just got a new car.” “Our mortgage was paid off.” “Our son got accepted to XYZ University.” “This new car is such a blessing.”

Such statements have become routine for Christians after they have been the recipients of material things. Superficially, when we first hear these proclamations they seem innocuous; even faithful.

Many will defend these declarations as giving God the glory for everything they have. But is it the right thing to do?

Simple answer: No.

When a Christian declares that material gains are the result of God’s blessing it diminishes the Lord to a pie-in-the-sky genie who spends His days granting wishes by arbitrarily bestowing cars, cash and credit to His followers.

Calling yourself blessed because of material increase is just plain wrong. Why? To begin with, it is an affront to the millions of Christians in the world who live on less than $10 per day. You read that right. Imagine the irony, millions who would be waiting to receive a single-digit dollar “blessing” per day because they hear others saying they have been blessed with a new car.

Over the years I have witnessed the disparity caused by the errant theology of prosperity, where the faithful poor who were struggling to feed their families were simply told they must not be faithful enough. If they were, God would pull them out of their horrendous condition. False prophets tell them to just give more to the church and God will show favor.

To those false prophets I would ask them to give me such a doctrine that is revealed in the New Covenant. In fact, nowhere in scripture are we promised worldly ease or material gain in return for our pledge of faith. In fact, the most devout saints from the Bible died penniless, receiving a one-way ticket to prison or death by torture.

So “Blessings Bound” Christians, what does Jesus have to say about blessings? Shock! The answer is in the Bible. You do remember that we have an instruction manual; don’t you?

Matthew 5:1-12

(1) And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

(2) And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

(3) Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

(4) Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

(5) Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

(6) Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

(7) Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

(8) Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

(9) Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

(10) Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

(11) Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

(12) Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Simple, eh? One would think so, but errant teaching has allowed Christians to rewrite, take away or add to the Holy Words of God in order to sooth their conscious when it comes to greed and material gain. The mindset of many has been reduced to, “We want the world and we want it now!”

Seldom do powerful religious leaders recognize their blatantly sinful lifestyles, foolish behavior or flubbed doctrines because they have built up such a following that they have become immune to wrongdoing. Worse yet, many church leaders wrongly twist the Scriptures to support some of their lunacy.

How can we challenge powerful church leaders who believe that they are not doing anything wrong?

This is when it becomes necessary to use satire, mockery, ridicule and public exposure in order for these proud religious leaders to realize (or otherwise ponder) the error of their ways. And so I write.

Please do not be offended as I understand many believers are simply the victims of errant teaching. We are commanded to study the Scriptures to be approved unto God. If we fail to do so, then we have no excuse.

That said, here is how they would like to add to the Scriptures to further their errant theology:

12a Waitest thou for one minute, Lord. What about “blessed art thou comfortable”, or 12b “blessed art thou which havest good jobs, a modest house in the suburbs, and a yearly vacation to Florida?” or 12c “blessed art thou that receivist a new donkey and cart?”

So there it is. The Lord Jesus Christ speaking in Matthew 5:3-12. Plain as day! Yet, people chose to disregard it and continue to commandeer the word “blessed” and making it fit neatly into their wants (not needs), creating a celestial lottery where every sincere prayer buys them another scratch-off ticket. Without following the examples and teaching set forth in the Scriptures they push away those whom they say they are hoping to bring to the faith. In essence, they have chosen to trade the souls of the lost for the acquisition of materials things.

My blessings are not found in materials things. That is why as a pastor I would not own a car unless every person in the congregation also had a car. Why? God has not chosen me above others because of the exactness of my prayers or the depth of my faith or flippantly uttering the words, “I am blessed.”

My blessing is this. I serve a God who gives hope to the hopeless. I serve a God who loves the unlovable. I serve a God who comforts the sorrowful. And I serve a God who has planted these desires within me.

And for this Spiritual blessing, may our reply always be, “Use me.”

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (Ephesians 1:3)