Shallow Theology

Job 36:11-12 If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment. 12 But if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword and die without knowledge.

Memes and Country Music are two of the places that people gather their theological understanding these days. Theology so shallow that it doesn’t cover you little toe seems to permeate our world today. There are exceptions, but the vast majority of people, even among those who name the name of Christ, have theology that holds no fear for Satan.

I have found that there has been a shift away from the Word of God and toward the word of the self. We give more credence to the ‘feelings’ we have than to the God who created feelings. We are not meant as human beings to be driven by our feelings. Feelings were never meant as a means for living a productive life.

Job’s final accuser speaks from his youth. He has a simple theology: Serve God and he will bless you. Disobey God and he will curse you. But this theology places our experience above the wisdom of God Himself. If this theology were true, then the billionaires of the world would be judged righteous. The poor of the world would be judged evil.

We can’t measure a person’s right-standing with God by looking at the outward. The paper-thin veneer of a person’s persona does not accurately reflect the inner character and status with God. Outward judgments don’t work. And only the LORD truly knows the heart. We can even deceive ourselves!

So when our young would be protagonist tries to take center stage, he fails at understanding that repentance is not a ‘get out of jail free’ card. Repentance doesn’t automatically erase all the natural consequences of sin. We might still have raise a child. We might have to go to jail. We might have to face a cancer diagnosis. We might have to take a second job to make ends meet.

Repentance puts us in right standing with God, but it doesn’t erase earthly consequences. And those consequences can be painful. But pain can be a great teaching tool. We can learn so much from painful experiences, like what not to do!

So next time someone tries to paint a rosy picture of repentance and its aftermath, try to do this. Try to fill out the picture with the timing of the LORD. Share examples of people who, even from Scripture, had struggles even though they were in right relationship with the LORD. Share examples like David whose son died even after his repentance. Or Paul who lived with his thorn, even though he prayed for its release.

I do wish life were as easy as this young fellow proposed, but it isn’t. It is messy and confusing. We all need a bit more grace in mercy, and we all need to extend a lot more grace and mercy to each other.