TV

I was watching some late night TV the other night. It was a very popular pastor that I've watched many times before and I like him, but something always bothers me about his teaching and I can never put my finger on it. He teaches Biblical truth- it is scriptural, but still something about his interpretation always nags at me that it's not quite right. So as I watched , and I did get some good things out of what he said, but I just asked the Lord what bothered me so much about his teaching. And He showed me. This man teaches a self-centered gospel.
Every principle he taught tied directly to our own personal happiness and success. It was not a "prosperity" message so much as it was a be-all-you-can-be message. This is not all bad- we should be all God created us to be but if that is our only reason for entering into this Christian walk- to just become the best version of ourself- we are really missing the whole point. We have bought into a Christian version of all the self-help gurus out there.
I have taught my children from the time they were very young to be kind to other people. Sometimes they are, sometimes they are not. Sometimes they are nice only because I said to be nice. And while it is true that being kind to others can a lot of times benefit you personally- that is not why I want them to be kind. I want them to realize the value each person has- that they are precious creations of their God and He adores them. So we should treat them like they are valuable because they are valuable. The thought being that they will eventually be kind to others because they see the value in them and want to treat them with honor- whether it personally benefits them or not. Because, I believe, if they only treat people well because of what they might get out of it- then that is just a sophisticated form of manipulation. And not at all honorable. And not what I am trying to teach them.
So maybe we start out obeying God because it's what He says to do- but I think at some point He's hoping we get His vision and His heart and we are doing things because it's what is important to Him and not just because it will lead us into a happy and successful life. This self-centered gospel doesn't work because it doesn't exist. If our gospel is self'-centered it is just that- "ours" and has become something we have made - not what God has made. He is anything but self-centered (reference the cross) and His will for us is anything but a life of self-centeredness.(reference any of the disciples)
He says plainly His desire is to be in close relationship with us and for His kingdom to come here on earth. So we have interpreted "His will" to mean whatever sounds good to us. But He again spelled that out clearly,too-His will is to bind up the brokenhearted, to free the captives, to help the poor, release those in darkness, and to comfort those who mourn (Isaiah 61). That's why He came and that's what He told us to do when He left- to finish the work of the One who sent Him. There was no real mention of our personal happiness in all of that. The gospel, if we can simplify it into anything, is not self-centered but others-centered. But even that is not really true because then we can go from being narcissistic and introspective to a self-satisfied do-gooder. Gosh- we can make anything about us can't we? But it's this delicate balance of us being in relationship with Him and doing what He would be doing if He were still here walking this earth- realizing it's all about us and not at all about us.