Job XXXVI

We often romanticize the Christian walk. Especially in our day and age, rather than portraying it as warfare, we tend to sing of holding hands with Jesus and walking side by side or staring dreamily into His eyes. Perhaps it’s because, for the few minutes, we’re crooning about sweet nothings, the sting of what it means to stand and having done all to stand isn’t quite so pronounced, but we dare not live in an environment of puffy clouds and flower-strewn meadows lest the enemy sneak up on us unaware and hamstring our resolve with one swipe of his claws.

Even those who teach it seem to have never done it because how they frame and present walking in the way seems so carefree and effortless that it evokes thoughts of summer frolics in the grass and windswept sands upon a beach.

Raise your hand right where you are, repeat these words, and you’re in the clear. A catchall cure-all for whatever ails you, and all you have to do is send in a tithe check!

But what about striving to enter through the narrow gate? What about many being called but few chosen? What about endurance and perseverance? We poll-tested those talking points, and they didn’t do so well with our audience. Prosperity, though, is off the charts and popular with every age demographic.

But what of the gospel and rightly dividing the Word? Well, you see, in order to spread the gospel, we must have money, and in order to get money, we must preach another gospel until we get enough money to go forth and preach the real gospel. You wouldn’t understand. By the way, you’re late on your tithe check. That’s two strikes. If we get to three, we’ll disfellowship with you and call you Ichabod.

Yes, I exaggerate to make a point, but just barely. The reason true faith is no longer discussed in many churches and the Christian walk is not presented in its true light is because, gullible as some of the sheep may be, the inconsistency between the message and the lifestyle of the messenger will be too obvious.

There he goes with his poverty mindset again. If that’s what you got from it, you missed the point entirely. I begrudge no man who works hard and is rightly compensated for his labors, but even the rich must contend with the reality that the spiritual man, the spiritual walk, and the eternity that beckons with every breath must be prioritized over this present life and material possessions. Job is the constant reminder that wealth is not a replacement for God. Not even close. If we can’t muster more energy seeking God than we do seeking earthly comforts, our priorities are skewed and improperly ranked.

We don’t live to work; we work to live, to earn our daily bread, but the overarching purpose of our endeavors must be serving God and serving people. You can easily spot the self-serving among the household of faith because they always seem to be the tip of the funnel of what has become a spiritualized form of a pyramid scheme. 

Because the hearts of those tasked with offering spiritual succor are tethered to the things of this earth, and seeking the things above comes second to their seeking the things of this earth, they are reticent in presenting the true gospel. If they were to speak the truth and tell people that the Christian walk is warfare and battle, wounds and bruises, but that through it all, God will be there to carry you through, you’d likely get a few raised eyebrows wondering how Bishop, Pastor, or Apostle are doing warfare from behind the wheel of a Bentley or a McLaren.

Some of the brasher ones might come up with the narrative that they need a fast car to run the devil over in the spirit, but rather than have to explain why every minute of their day seems to be focused on the here, the now, and their physical comfort, they’ll beat the prosperity drum until there’s nothing left to beat.

Job was rich one day, then destitute the next. He had seven sons and three daughters whom he loved enough to bring burnt offerings on behalf of one day, then buried what remained of them the next after being crushed by the house they were in. He was healthy one day and covered in painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. Through it all, Job held fast to his integrity.

If you don’t particularly like roller coasters but you got on one because you didn’t want your ten-year-old daughter to think you a coward, then you have an idea of what holding fast means. It’s not a passive action; it is an active one. You cling to that bar in front of you for all you’re worth because if you were meant to corkscrew and loop-di-loop, God would have given you wings and the ability to fly.

The enemy’s attacks will always be aimed at separating you from your integrity. There will always be the temptation to make a compromise, small and subtle at first, but if you relent and make it, the temptation for ever greater compromises will be short in coming. Hold fast to faith, hold fast to hope, hold fast to your integrity and the Word of God, even if everything around you is trying to pull you away.

It’s a lot like being on the aforementioned roller coaster but without a safety harness. The centrifugal force of it is constantly pulling at you, and all you have is that shiny metal bar across your lap that you’re holding onto for dear life, for to let go would spell ruin. You know it’s a passing thing. You know the ride will end in thirty or forty seconds, but until it does, until it comes to a screeching stop, you hang on.

One of the most destructive lies being repeated from pulpits throughout the denominational panoply is that the Christian walk is an easy, carefree prospect, requiring little or nothing of us as individuals. The Word itself proves these men liars, whether the Old or New Testaments, because to the last, every man of substance that was singled out each had some form of hardship to contend with, some sort of trial to overcome, and some challenge through which they had to persevere and hold fast to the integrity they possessed. Giving up is easy, but it’s not right. Giving up is only an option for those who as yet fail to understand that this is a life-or-death struggle with nothing in between. Either we live for Him, in Him, and through Him, and die to the word, or we live for the world and are dead toward God. No man can serve two masters. Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.