Theology of Bling

Sometimes a prophetic voice rises out of the noise to offer much needed spiritual direction.  That is how I felt this morning when I came across this quote by Mary J. Blige.  She says she has found God.  You can read her testimony on msnbc.com (thanks to Todd for the link).  Here's the part that spoke to me (as spoken to Blender Magazine).

My God is a God who wants me to have things.  He wants me to bling.  He wants me to be the hottest thing on the block.  I don't know what kind of God the rest of y'all are serving, but the God I serve says, 'Mary, you need to be the hottest thing this year, and I'm gonna make sure you're doing that.'"

Maybe this is what I've been missing? 

So...maybe I need to pray for this:

And this:

And one of these:

Seriously, here's my take.  American Christianity has done okay in the material department.  Our buildings are bigger then ever.  Our savings accounts earn more interest than ever. 

Here's the catch.  Our cities are more bound then ever.

High on natural resources; low on supernatural resources.

I had lunch with a new friend yesterday.  He oversees a church planting movement in Virginia.  He asked me how the low economy in Michigan has affected our church.  Here's my response.

Finances are down.  Faith is up. 

During the last few years we've grown in attendance faster than finances.  People are giving, but the economy affects that giving.  But it's amazing how the stretching of the budget inspires the stretching of our faith.  Everytime we've stepped out of the budget comfort zone in obedience and faith God has provided the resources we've needed.  Everytime.

What if the economy collapsed tomorrow?  Would your church's ministry collapse, or stand out? 

Bling is cool.

God's blessing is indispensible.

Comments

[Michael]

Americans are fat and sassy. Spoiled. Our poorest are 10 ten times more wealthy than the third world nations. Let Mary Blige take a walk through the streets of Calcutta, India or stroll through the alleys of Kigali, Rwanda. Maybe we can consider trading in the SUV and give a portion to the AIDS epidemic, poverty, and health care. We then might change the world's perspective on the U.S. and then they might listen to our message.

[jr]

The Lord works in mysterious ways...fo shizzle!

I really like that, "SUPERnatural resources" :)

[Jeff]

How sad. Let's not wait to till heaven to get our treasures. As one prosperity preacher said, "I don't to wait till heaven to eat my pie in the sky, I want it down here on earth!"

Yet another result of late-night infomercials and rampant materialism in America. I agree with Michael. Take that wealth and sell it, give to the poor of the world and show them the love of Jesus. Hey, I blogged on this today!

I'm not against having things. I enjoy my TV and my XBox, but we must make sure things don't have a hold on us.

[Henry]

She did rightly speak:

"the god I SERVE..."

truly the "god" she serves does want her to act that way. The One I serve wants me to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Him.

Guess it all comes down to semantics :)

BTW- nice blog Pastor Brad
-HMH