Luke 6:24-26 (ESV)
[24] “But woe to you who are rich, for
you have received your consolation.
[25] “Woe to you who are full now, for
you shall be hungry. “Woe to you who laugh now,
for you shall mourn and weep.
[26] “Woe to you, when all people speak
well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
These verses make me think of the
health and wealth preachers that amass huge followings and great wealth. People
buy their books, watch their programs, and write them checks. They look a lot
more like these woes than the blessings of the previous verses. But then, as I
reflect on this passage more, I realize that in some ways these verses describe
the American church. Yes, there are poor people, hungry people, grieving people
in the American church. But in general, when I attend church, I see people who
have jobs, homes, and plenty of food. Is that wrong? No! Not unless our comfort
becomes our idol.
When we develop a theology that
says God owes us these things, or that if we do not have them then somehow God
has abandoned us, our comfort has become our idol. I see people rejecting God
because bad things happen to them. I see people angry at a God they don’t even
think exists because someone they loved died, or because someone they love got
cancer, or because someone they love had a bad accident. These things prove to
them either that God is not real or that he is not all powerful. But that is a
faulty premise. It assumes that God is here to serve us and make us happy. God
is not a slave who exists to fulfill our every wish.
Good theology reveals that all
the bad things that happen in this world are there because we, creations in the
image of God, messed up the good thing that he made. We are living with the
consequences of that choice and those choices. God’s promise in the blessings
and curses of this chapter in Luke is that all will be made right in time. We
need to trust him. Those who are hurting can be assured of God’s promise of peace.
Those who have made idols of this world can be assured that they already have
their reward. It reminds me of Jesus’ words in Mark 8:36-37, “For what does it
profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man
give in return for his soul?” Don’t let the bad things of this broken world
cause you to reject faith in Christ. Don’t let the good things of this world
cause you to make an idol of your own comfort. There is coming a reckoning. Put
your faith in him.
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