The Visible and Invisible Worlds of Religion
“What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4: 18).
This Scripture, summarising the text of today’s ODB devotional, caught my attention in a way I couldn’t resist: “What is seen is temporary…” What do I see? Around me, I see wealthy people drive exotic cars, live in palaces, and fly personal jets while adding more and more to their wealth. I see powerful men in positions of authority misuse their power and status to oppress the vulnerable. I see hungry and homeless individuals struggling to live above the floodwaters of a lopsided social and economic system.
What again do I see? I see preachers propagating Arminian theology, a man-centered belief system that emphasizes human free will and responsibility in salvation, unabashedly closing their eyes to what I’m seeing; I see young preachers stepping into their father’s man-centered, money-making business ventures called Ministry. How do I know? They reduce all the treasures in the Bible to one subject: Tithing.
Tithe — That word again!
This misuse of ministry is not just disappointing, it’s a call to action. A call to uphold the values of our faith, to reclaim the true purpose of ministry. “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy” (Colossians 2: 8).
It’s heartbreaking to see the son of an apostle of wealth-making break away from his father’s ministry to start his own. Has he got a different message? I asked. But alas, he is a chip off the old block. He’s standing before our uninformed, gullible young people, twisting scripture to take money from them, instead of preaching the gospel of Christ’s kingdom.
My heart goes to families and individuals who lost all they have spent their lives acquiring and building to a ravaging wildfire in Los Angeles. Tragically, those things we see have perished before the eyes of their owners; instead of their owners leaving them behind at death.
“What is seen is temporary,...” We see organized religious cults, groups that often have a charismatic leader and a set of beliefs or practices that are seen as unorthodox or extreme by the mainstream religious community.
Sure there is no salvation in organized church growth. Our younger generations are being misled in the ministry enterprise. We have shut out the Holy Spirit and completely sold out to man-made schemes, such as marketing tactics and business strategies, to increase the number of people attending our local and satellite network of churches. The goal is increased recognition and influence with the somewhat altruistic object of changing the world by getting more prominent.
Church/Ministry’s mission is not to change the world or get more prominent, with the perceived feel-good emotion of being part of something big for the membership.
But what is unseen that is eternal? In brief, God is spirit; the Creator spirit is unseen and eternal. As creatures made in God’s image, we have His unseen breath in us — it is what makes our soul one with the godhead. It’s our mandate to preach and teach this truth — the centerpiece of our restoration. We share it with the eternal Christ. Those who worship God must 'worship in spirit and truth' (John 4: 24). And this is it, “Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ” (Col. 2: 11).
Think about that.
