Blank Check Theology

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

Psalms 37:4 (NLT)

Once I was young, and now I am old.  Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.   Psalms 37:25 (NLT)

“Blank check theology” is imagining God will give you anything you want when you ask.  The Bible verses above are two of the favorites quoted by many who push this kind of thinking.  This is so, especially by those on television shows where the end of the show encourages you to send your check.

The reasoning (or rationalizing) in the Prosperity Gospel is that God promised you the desires of your heart.  After all, what’s so hard to understand?  You just put your prayer request up, and, ka-ching, out pops your answer.  Your blank check has been signed by God, who is just waiting to bless your little socks off!

One Small Problem

Whether it is praying for money, power, prestige, a new Cadillac or making a godly decision between a face lift and liposuction, the blank check theology of The Church of Materialism NOW is not – never has been – nor will it ever be – what God has said in His Word.

The problem with an unconditional god of the vending machine variety, where he simply exists to fulfill all your desires, is that it reverses the roles; god is your servant, and you give the orders; you are now god.  In case you were sick the day that was taught in Bible class, taking God’s place is technically called SIN.  God is to be worshipped, not manipulated to make us happy.

So what DID God really mean here?

Check out the meaning of the words of Psalms 37:4:  Delight and Desires:

“Delight” is a word that means “pliable” or “soft”.  It means to place yourself in the hands of someone else’s decisions – in this case, in Jehovah’s hands.  So that could not mean you are driving the bus…it means God decides what you need.

“Desires” indicates the center of your will, intellect and feelings.  It has to do with what you set your heart on and love.

So….do the math

To be pliable, placing myself in Jehovah’s hands, allowing my desires, my will, my choices and what I love to all be centered on him, I would have a hard time praying for a new Rolls Royce.  

Rather, I want what He wants….and that, stated over and over and over in Scripture…is for me to stay close to God and love Him, and love my neighbor as myself.

Jesus said it this way:

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.  Matthew 6:33 (NLT)

Today

You place your heart in His hands and let your desire be for Him….He gives you more love than you can imagine; the desire of your heart is fulfilled.

Come to think of it, you really do have a blank check on that!

Guess I’m a Blank Check Theology kind of guy after all!