The Fallacy of the American Dream Part 3

...and the Truth of the Father’s Desires

In this country, we judge success with an ungodly measure. Have you seen this bumper sticker?

He who dies with the most toys, wins!

This embodies the attitude that has crept into the Body of Christ as well, only we would say,

He who dies with the most names on the church roll, wins!

God uses an entirely different measure or ruler to judge success. Jesus instructed us to “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”[i] Paul wrote,

“So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.” [ii]

We are admonished to be careful not to judge by appearances. On one hand that means that we should not dismiss someone or something said or done because of how it appears. On the other hand, it means that we should not embrace someone or something just because it is producing results Jesus stated that,

"Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' [iii]

In this passage, we see people crying out to Jesus, listing their accomplishments. “Lord, look at my ledger book, or look at my Sunday School rosters, or what about all the miracle-healing crusades that I held or how about all those television or radio stations I owned?” His response in each case is that He did not know them. They had great gifts or great wealth, great accomplishments or great ministries but no relationship. Lots of leaves, no fruit.

The bottom line to all this is simply put, it is not how many but how well. As Jesus stated that the Father is glorified by our bearing much fruit. Do not be drawn away or condemned by the apparent lack of results in or from your life. Produce fruit and leave the results in the Father’s hands. Learn to love without restraint and you can transform nations. Pour out of yourself that good measure that is in you and the day will come when you will hear those words, “ Well done my son, enter into my joy which I have prepared for you”

Judge not yourself or your family, nor the success or failure of your life by the abundance or scarcity of the leaves, but by the quantity and flavor of your fruit.

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[i] John 7:24

[ii] 1 Corinthians 4:1-5

[iii] Matt 7:21-24