Is this the worst advice?

I logged onto a popular social media platform, and there it was: Some of the worst advice I’d ever seen. However, I’m not sure it was that obvious to many people. See, it was the kind of advice that’s really dangerous: It’s advice that actually sounds good at first unless you take time to think about it. 

Friend, give me just a few minutes and let me explain this advice – let me unmask it – so that you don’t get duped. And let me remind you of the truth. 

The provocative statement I read went like this: “God is watching and he rewards those that want it the most.”

I’m not trying to create enemies, so I’m not going to name names, but it was posted by someone with reach and clout. And the fact is, this kind of advice – where you stick God on something and then pair it with a sort of pull-yourselves-up-by-your-bootstraps line that kind of sounds good – is popular these days. 

Why? Because it appeals to our bloated sense of self. We live in an age and culture that highlights OUR abilities. The world says, “YOU can do whatever YOU want. There are no limitations. Whatever YOU want to do, do it!” 

That’s what’s at the heart of the statement above. If YOU want it – the job, the money, the fame, the status – then God will reward that. As long as YOU want it badly – and work hard for it – then God will give it to you! 

Here’s the problem: That leaves no room for what God actually wants. Sure, maybe you want the job with the seven-figure payout, but what if God actually knows what that will do to your heart? Sure, you want the biggest house, but what if God actually knows how materialistic that will make you? Sure, you want everything to be perfect, but what if God knows that the valleys of life are where you will grow the most?

In other words, the statement I saw confuses our will for God’s will. In the Lord’s Prayer, we are taught to pray for God’s will to be done “on earth as it is in heaven.” We are to ask him – daily, hourly – to reveal what he wants. To replace our wants and desires with his wants and desires. The world actually becomes messier when we get that wrong. Our lives become messier when we get that wrong. 

It’s very similar to the idea of, “God helps those who help themselves.” You’ve heard that one before, right? What a lie! The whole point of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that God sent his son to help us precisely because we cannot help ourselves. No matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, we are helpless against sin and its eternal consequences. To think otherwise is to treat the FREE gift of God as something we can earn. 

Friend, we can’t earn God’s love. We can’t earn salvation. We can’t earn his favor. And you know what? That’s the best news ever! Why? Because if we had to earn any of those things, we would fail; 100% of the time we would fail. It is an impossible task because we are flawed human beings.

In the end, God doesn’t reward those who “want” something more or the most. Even in the Bible, the writer of the book of Job laments, “Why do the wicked prosper?” Certainly, God isn’t watching the evildoers of the world and saying, “Well, they ‘want’ it more, and so I’m obligated to give it to them.” In the same way, God isn’t looking at his children, just hoping some will “want it” more so that he can fulfill their every desire, no matter what it is. 

And yet, too many of us go through life confusing our will for God’s will and demanding he give it to us.

This month, we’ve been talking a lot about “spiritual adulting” and how we become more mature. Do you want to know one of the most spiritually adult perspectives? It’s realizing that just because you want something doesn’t mean it’s good. It’s realizing that you have sinful desires that cloud your judgment. It’s realizing our limitations and knowing where to turn.

We have to get to the point where we ask God to replace our desires with his. Remember, in his sovereignty, he has a plan and he is much more wise than we are. The “reward” that’s most important has already been given as a free gift, and there’s nothing we can do to earn it. 

So, as you go through the week, look for evidence of God’s grace in your life and thank him for it. Not because you earned it or “wanted it more,” but because he is a good and loving God that, in the end, rewards those who “diligently seek him” – who love him for who he is, not what he can give. 

(This article originally appeared on I Am Second. Learn more about them here.)