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Segundo, y ms importante an, llamar a m mismo bendecido porque de la buena fortuna material es simplemente errnea
. Para empezar , puede ser ofensivo para los cientos de millones de cristianos en el mundo que viven con menos de $ 10 por
da. Has ledo bien . Cientos de millones de personas que reciben un solo dgito dlar "bendicin " por da .
Durante nuestro ao en Guatemala , Gabby y fui testigo de primera mano los daos causados por la teologa de la
prosperidad , donde los fieles raspado por alimentar a sus familias simplemente se les dice que no deben ser tan fieles. Si as
fuera, Dios sera sacarlos de su pesadilla. Haga la prueba ms difcil , y Dios te perdonar .
El problema ? En ninguna parte de las Escrituras se nos prometimos mundana facilidad a cambio de nuestro compromiso de
fe. De hecho , los santos ms devotos de la Biblia por lo general muri sin dinero , recibir un billete de ida a la crcel o la
muerte por tortura.
Voy a tomar la puerta nmero tres, por favor .
Si buscamos la definicin de la bendicin , Jess lo explica con claridad.
Cuando vio a las multitudes , subi al monte y se sent. Sus discpulos se le acercaron , 2 Y comenz a ensearles
ellos, diciendo :
3 Bienaventurados los pobres en espritu , porque de ellos es el reino de los cielos.
4 Bienaventurados los que lloran, porque ellos sern consolados.
5 Bienaventurados los mansos, porque ellos heredarn la tierra.
6 Bienaventurados los que tienen hambre y sed de justicia, porque ellos sern saciados.
7 Bienaventurados los misericordiosos, porque ellos alcanzarn misericordia .
8 Bienaventurados los de limpio corazn, porque ellos vern a Dios.
9 Bienaventurados los pacificadores , porque ellos sern llamados hijos de Dios.
10 Bienaventurados los que padecen persecucin por causa de la justicia , porque de ellos es el reino de los cielos.
11 Bienaventurados seris cuando os injurien , os persigan y digan toda clase de mal contra vosotros por mi causa . 12
Alegraos y regocijaos, porque vuestra recompensa es grande en los cielos; pues de la misma manera persiguieron a los
profetas que fueron antes de vosotros . (Mt 5 , 1-12 )
Tengo la sospecha de versculos 12b 12a y 12c se omite en el texto. Ah es donde los discpulos respondieron diciendo:
12a Waitest t por un segundo, Seor. Qu pasa con " Bendita t eres cmodo" , o 12b " Bendita t eres el que havest
buenos puestos de trabajo , una modesta casa en los suburbios , y unas vacaciones anual a la Costa del Golfo de la Florida? "
12c Y Jess les dijo: " Mis disculpas , mis hermanos, pero esos no hermosea el corte. "
As que ah est . Escrito en rojo. Claro como el da . An as, lo ignoramos todo cuando secuestrar la palabra "
bienaventurado" para que se ajuste perfectamente a nuestros ideales estadounidenses modernos , creando una lotera
csmica donde cada oracin sincera nos compra otro boleto para raspar . En el proceso, nos encontramos el riesgo de alienar
a los que estamos con la esperanza de traer a la fe .
Y tenemos que dejar de jugar a ese juego.
La verdad es que no tengo ni idea de por qu nac dnde estaba ni por qu tengo la oportunidad que tengo. Est ms all de
la comprensin. Pero ciertamente no creo que Dios me ha elegido por encima de otros debido a la veracidad de mis
oraciones o la profundidad de mi fe. An as, si aprovecho las oportunidades puestas delante de m, una vida cmoda puede
venir a mi manera . No est garantizado . Pero si sucede , yo no creo que Jess me llamarn bienaventurada .
l me llamar " agobiados ".
l le pedir ,
" Qu vas a hacer con l? "
" Va a utilizar por s mismo ? "
" Va a utilizar para ayudar?"
" Va a mantenerla cerca para la comodidad ? "
"Quieres compartirlo? "
As que muchas decisiones difciles . Tan pocas respuestas fciles .
As que mi oracin hoy es que entiendo mi verdadera bendicin. No es mi casa. O mi trabajo. O mi nivel de vida .
No.
Mi bendicin es esto. Conozco a un Dios que da esperanza a los desesperados . Conozco a un Dios que ama al ser amado .
Conozco a un Dios que consuela a los afligidos . Y s que un Dios que ha plantado este mismo poder dentro de m. Dentro de
todos nosotros.
Y por esta bendicin, que nuestra respuesta siempre ser,
" Use me ".
* Escritores en cuenta: Desde que tuve esta conversacin , mi nueva respuesta es simplemente , "Estoy muy agradecido . "
Me encantara conocer tu opinin .
First, when I say that my material fortune is the result of Gods blessing, it reduces The Almighty to some sort of
sky-bound, wish-granting fairy who spends his days randomly bestowing cars and cash upon his followers. I cant
help but draw parallels to how I handed out M&Ms to my own kids when they followed my directions and chose
to poop in the toilet rather than in their pants. Sure, God wants us to continually seek His will, and its for our own
good. But positive reinforcement?
God is not a behavioral psychologist.
Second, and more importantly, calling myself blessed because of material good fortune is just plain wrong. For
starters, it can be offensive to the hundreds of millions of Christians in the world who live on less than $10 per
day. You read that right. Hundreds of millions who receive a single-digit dollar blessing per day.
During our year in Guatemala, Gabby and I witnessed first-hand the damage done by the theology of prosperity,
where faithful people scraping by to feed their families were simply told they must not be faithful enough. If they
were, God would pull them out of their nightmare. Just try harder, and God will show favor.
The problem? Nowhere in scripture are we promised worldly ease in return for our pledge of faith. In fact, the
most devout saints from the Bible usually died penniless, receiving a one-way ticket to prison or death by torture.
Ill take door number three, please.
If were looking for the definition of blessing, Jesus spells it out clearly.
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, 2and He
began to teach
them, saying:
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of
me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the
prophets who were before you. (Matt 5: 1-12)
I have a sneaking suspicion verses 12a 12b and 12c were omitted from the text. Thats where the disciples
responded by saying,
12a Waitest thou for one second, Lord. What about blessed art thou comfortable, or 12b blessed art thou
which havest good jobs, a modest house in the suburbs, and a yearly vacation to the Florida Gulf Coast?
12c And Jesus said unto them, Apologies, my brothers, but those did not maketh the cut.
So there it is. Written in red. Plain as day. Even still, we ignore it all when we hijack the word blessed to make it
fit neatly into our modern American ideals, creating a cosmic lottery where every sincere prayer buys us another
scratch-off ticket. In the process, we stand the risk of alienating those we are hoping to bring to the faith.
And we have to stop playing that game.
The truth is, I have no idea why I was born where I was or why I have the opportunity I have. Its beyond
comprehension. But I certainly dont believe God has chosen me above others because of the veracity of my
prayers or the depth of my faith. Still, if I take advantage of the opportunities set before me, a comfortable life
may come my way. Its not guaranteed. But if it does happen, I dont believe Jesus will call me blessed.
He will call me burdened.
He will ask,
What will you do with it?
Will you use it for yourself?
Will you use it to help?
Will you hold it close for comfort?
Will you share it?
So many hard choices. So few easy answers.
So my prayer today is that I understand my true blessing. Its not my house. Or my job. Or my standard of living.
No.
My blessing is this. I know a God who gives hope to the hopeless. I know a God who loves the unlovable. I know
a God who comforts the sorrowful. And I know a God who has planted this same power within me. Within all of
us.
And for this blessing, may our response always be,
Use me.
* Writers note: Since I had this conversation, my new response is simply, Im grateful. Would love to hear your
thoughts.