The World in Us, or Us in the World?

“Prosperity knits a man [or woman] to the World. He feels that he is ‘finding his place in it,’ while really it is finding its place in him. His increasing reputation, his widening circle of acquaintances, his sense of importance, the growing pressure of absorbing and agreeable work, build up in him a sense of being really at home on Earth.” C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters.

Susan Reese Carloss, reflecting on the above observes, “Prosperity and success can enable the world to take up residence in the center of our being. An abundance of things, wealth, renown: these can provide a false sense of security. Soon the heart is tempted and begins to lean toward these things for support and meaning. Stitch by stitch, a “knitting” is done, joining the person to the world, until it is no longer clear which possesses which. The world “finds its place” in us. Jesus reminds us that “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34).”  Daily Readings from Spiritual Classics, Augsburg, page 25.

The quote from Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters are words Lewis puts in a letter from a senior devil to a junior devil in training. It is difficult for us to envision prosperity as being the devil’s work since we think that all prosperity must come from God. After all, prosperity looks so good and feels so good - what could be wrong with it? Sadly, we have the talent to take even the prosperity that God gives us and abuse it, make it our own, take credit for it, and turn that which God meant for good into something harmful - even evil. We can get drunk on money and fame and position just as we can on alcohol.

It doesn’t help that some in the professing church teach a “prosperity gospel”, seducing their hearers into viewing God as a Sugar Daddy, avoiding the Cross of Christ and the Christ of the Cross who says that we are to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily and follow him in self-denial. Much of the church views success as the world views success - by that measure Jesus Christ is a failure; He was executed, He died poor - not a good career. Oh yes, there is Easter isn’t there? Jesus lived and died for Easter, for the hope set before Him (Hebrews 11:1-11). What are we living and dying for?

As a dear friend has pointed out to me more than once, much of the church has bought into the prosperity gospel; you need not be overt about it, you just need to measure life by possessions, prestige, power, and accomplishment rather than by Jesus Christ and the Cross. Most of us are good at avoiding the Cross...myself included.

Where do we find our support and meaning? If we look to the world to validate us we will live life on a rollercoaster. If we look within ourselves for validation we are the equivalent of the lawyer who is party to a legal action and represents himself - we will have a fool for an attorney. Only the transcendent True and Living God can provide us with lasting identity and security - for after all, we came from Him, we were created in His image, and He loves us with an unfathomable love; now He desires to draw us into an intimate relationship with Himself through His Son Jesus.

If, of course, we are the products of time plus matter plus chance - then nothing matters, not if we are going to be logically consistent - because death ends it all and one day the entire solar system will die - we won’t just have a government shutdown, we’ll have a planetary and universal shutdown.

Who are we? Where have we come from? Where are we going?