getting what we want

Listen to this incredible quote from George MacDonald. "Man finds it hard to get what he wants, because he does not want the best; God finds it hard to give because He (wants to) give the best, and man will not take it."

Recently I was teaching on how we live or lives with envy, comparing ourselves ot others. I made referrence to some of the new Christian books on the market right now like Joel Osteen’s “Your Best Life Now”.

What kind of Christian books make to the top of the “best-sellers” list? Generally they're NOT books about sacrifice and contentment. They’re books about how to get a bigger house and live in prosperity.

Just read the first few pages of Joel Osteen’s book. Here are few quotes from just the first few pages.
 "Someday, I'll earn more money, and I won't have to worry about how to pay the bills." "God wants to increase you financially," (Osteen writes on page 5.)
 "Even if you come from an extremely successful family, God still wants you to go further" (p. 9).
 "Get rid of that small-minded thinking and start thinking as God thinks. Think big. Think increase. Think abundance. Think more than enough" (p. 11).
 "Many people settle for too little . . . 'I've gone as far in my career as I can go. I've hit the peak. I'll never make any more money than I'm making right now'" (p. 23).
And he goes on and on, teaching you how to get God to give you more money and more prosperity.

But here’s the PROBLEM with all that. Listen very closely. YES God wants to bless us with His richest of blessings. He wants to give us the best. But listen… HE is the one who knows what IS best. Not me.

MY DEFINITION of prosperity and blessing, and my definition of success… are often quite different from God’s definition.

Just read the Bible. Look throughout history at some of the most Godly men and women who ever lived. What would they think of the way modern Christianity focuses on money, and success, and having more and bigger and better all the time?