The Blessed Life review
Expect to see significantly increased blogging output over the next several weeks. I'll explain why in a future post. You'll just have to wait and find out.
A small aside: I'm trying very hard to be more concise. Twitter is helping: having 140 characters to say something meaningful certainly makes me think harder.
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I'm going to try to update my book review format. I've been using the same basic approach to book reviews for three years, and while it's worked all right, I want to have a bit more freedom in approach.
The Blessed Life by Robert Morris, pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, is about God's financial blessings for your life. The basic message of the book is accurate and worth hearing, but it's clouded and there are enough issues that I can't really recommend it. It's relatively short, and even reading it carefully for the purposes of a review, it probably only took me about two and a half hours to read from start to finish. Even with the addendum at the back, the book is just 217 generously formatted pages long: 12 short chapters and a brief afterword.
Morris' thesis is that God wants all of His children to lead a blessed life. In particular, he writes that the blessed life is very definitely financially blessed. I should immediately clarify that this isn't prosperity gospel, per se. The book has issues, some of which I'll describe below, but it isn't just another "Give and you'll be rich!" scheme. There are some very good biblical principles laid out throughout the book, and it's clear that Morris opposes the prosperity gospel.
Morris focuses on giving generously and sacrificially, and he emphasizes that God is our provider. He repeatedly emphasizes how God takes care of His people's needs. The book issues a call to stop believing that if we just budget carefully enough we'll always be secure. Instead we should relinquish our tight grasp on our money and give freely as God leads - up to and including every last thing we own. It's a bold challenge, and an important one. Morris points to Jesus' reminder that if God cares for birds and flowers, how much more can we rely on Him to provide for our needs? So then, we should give without holding back; we should give to whoever asks and expect nothing in return. We should gladly give everything we own when God calls us to. He has provided all we have, and He can provide more as we need it. Morris backs this up both Scripturally and evidentially from his own life. (The evidence is good, but it has a downside. See below.)
Mr. Morris and I part ways in two places, however. First, his use of Scripture throughout the book varies between good and very bad. In one chapter, he does an excellent job of developing Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, using sound expositional teaching. Elsewhere, though, his use of Scripture is more questionable. (Some of them are simply strange, like his completely decontextualized quote from Song of Solomon.)
Second, he takes his thesis that God will reward those who are generous givers - with which I fully agree - and then moves forward to say that giving leads to "Guaranteed Financial Results" (the title of the last chapter). He writes, "... I can tell you without hesitation that if you will apply the principles I've outlined in these chapters, you will get remarkable, positive financial results—guaranteed." He has a more Biblical framework in mind than it might seem: he follows by arguing that giving is important because it does work in our hearts, which is what God is really after. I agree with that, but I do not think that we will always find ourselves financially blessed simply because we give. I believe God will meet our needs, but the overwhelming poverty of many generous believers throughout history and Scripture runs contrary to his argument.
The Psalms frequently cry out that the wicked prosper and the good do not. The prophets repeatedly make much of the fact that wicked rich men are crushing the poor. The widow in her generous giving of two mites did not suddenly become wealthy, and Christ never said she would.
How then do we reconcile Jesus teaching that when we give we will receive with the reality that we do not always receive greater money than we have given? I don't know the exact details, but I know that the rewards we are promised are not merely earthly, but heavenly. Morris notes this, but only once. The book repeatedly emphasizes financial rewards in this world, and the lack of a heavenly perspective is a sore loss.
On a different note, Morris repeatedly denies any pride, but spends the book recounting all the ways and times he and his family have been used mightily by God. If there were a more even balance between these and other stories, this might not seem so bad, but every chapter has several examples of his generosity. By contrast, I am reminded of Jesus' teaching in the same Sermon on the Mount passages that Morris frequently quoted:
Scripture's emphasis is on secrecy, not boasting. Morris says "Believe me, I'm not [boasting]" (p. 125), and I believe he meant it. If so, he needs to recognize that he would seem lest boastful if he focused less on himself, more on others, and above all more on Scripture.
Perhaps the oddest part of the book was his elaborate discussion on the Spirit of Mammon. For most of a chapter, he discusses an individual spirit of Mammon that he claims is "on" money unless the Spirit of God is, referencing Luke 16:13. He claims there is an individual spirit named Mammon that prevents money from multiplying for the kingdom unless money is actively submitted to God. The first problem here is that he builds his case for a "spirit of mammon" not from Scripture but from Milton's Paradise Lost, which is fine poetry, and not always terrible theology, but hardly an authority. Second, the use of the word "mammon" here is misleading. All modern translations generally use "wealth," as that's all the word means. Finally, there is no Biblical basis for his claim that there is an individual Spirit of Mammon. I don't doubt that there are demons that specialize in leading people astray via greed and money. That being said, I see no warrant at all from Scripture for Morris claim that "[in] the Biblical sense of the word, mammon is the spirit that rests on money. Did you know that all money has a spirit on it? It either has the Spirit of God on it or the spirit of mammon" (p. 77). Men's hearts are led astray by demonic lies or led rightly by the Holy Spirit. Money and electronic numbers are just paper and electrons.
Strangely, Morris almost immediately contradicts his previous argument by quoting Jesus teaching that we are to use "unrighteous mammon" to win friends for ourselves to serve the Kingdom, and that we are to be faithful in the unrighteous mammon if we wish to be trusted with real treasure. Jesus would certainly never command us to make use of an evil spirit to accomplish anything. Given how direct Christ is here, just verses after Morris' proof text for his Spirit of Mammon, he ends up backtracking and agreeing with Jesus' message. The result is a confusing mess. While this points to a need for good editing, it also shows his failure to build his case on a good theological and Scriptural foundation.
This and other misuses of Scripture were nearly the worst problems. Scripture speaks clearly about finances; there is no need to add or invent more evidence for what it says. This failing is all the sadder because so much of this book is good. We live in a church culture that often throws tithing out with ceremonial washings, so his emphasis both on tithing and giving beyond our tithes was refreshing.
My greatest disappointment here was that Morris never took a moment to point out that, financial blessings aside, no reward will ever compare with knowing Christ. This was a book on the blessed life, but it completely misses what Christ calls blessed: knowing God. Abundant life, eternal life, is knowing God and the one He sent. Finances are petty distractions in comparison. They are important, as Morris rightly notes, as a gauge of our hearts. But Morris never stopped to note that Jesus Christ is our real reward for faithfulness in this life.
I find it very difficult to sum up my thoughts on this book. Morris' passion for people with gifts of giving is evident. His love of the body of Christ is clear. His love of God is plain to see. His message is important. Christians do need to value and practice generosity and giving more, and God does delight in our joyful giving. He does reward, though most of the rewards are eternal. If Morris were simply another preacher of the prosperity gospel, it would be easy to dismiss his missteps as part of his misguided theology, but his underlying theology regarding finances is not the issue.
The real problems here are over-application and a lack of Christ-centeredness. What has been true in his life is not universally true. Many Christians will give generously and live in relative (or true) poverty some or all their lives. Paul's life alone is evidence of that.
The antidote to this problem is simple: a deeper reliance on Scripture itself, without recourse to anecdote and misinterpretation.
More importantly, we must always find our joy in Christ alone, no matter whether we are richly blessed or utterly destitute in this age. Our reward is knowing Him, above any other blessing He gives. That is the point that must be made, and it's the point that Morris completely missed. The real blessed life is to know Christ, no matter our circumstances.
A small aside: I'm trying very hard to be more concise. Twitter is helping: having 140 characters to say something meaningful certainly makes me think harder.
---
I'm going to try to update my book review format. I've been using the same basic approach to book reviews for three years, and while it's worked all right, I want to have a bit more freedom in approach.
The Blessed Life by Robert Morris, pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, is about God's financial blessings for your life. The basic message of the book is accurate and worth hearing, but it's clouded and there are enough issues that I can't really recommend it. It's relatively short, and even reading it carefully for the purposes of a review, it probably only took me about two and a half hours to read from start to finish. Even with the addendum at the back, the book is just 217 generously formatted pages long: 12 short chapters and a brief afterword.
Morris' thesis is that God wants all of His children to lead a blessed life. In particular, he writes that the blessed life is very definitely financially blessed. I should immediately clarify that this isn't prosperity gospel, per se. The book has issues, some of which I'll describe below, but it isn't just another "Give and you'll be rich!" scheme. There are some very good biblical principles laid out throughout the book, and it's clear that Morris opposes the prosperity gospel.
Morris focuses on giving generously and sacrificially, and he emphasizes that God is our provider. He repeatedly emphasizes how God takes care of His people's needs. The book issues a call to stop believing that if we just budget carefully enough we'll always be secure. Instead we should relinquish our tight grasp on our money and give freely as God leads - up to and including every last thing we own. It's a bold challenge, and an important one. Morris points to Jesus' reminder that if God cares for birds and flowers, how much more can we rely on Him to provide for our needs? So then, we should give without holding back; we should give to whoever asks and expect nothing in return. We should gladly give everything we own when God calls us to. He has provided all we have, and He can provide more as we need it. Morris backs this up both Scripturally and evidentially from his own life. (The evidence is good, but it has a downside. See below.)
Mr. Morris and I part ways in two places, however. First, his use of Scripture throughout the book varies between good and very bad. In one chapter, he does an excellent job of developing Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, using sound expositional teaching. Elsewhere, though, his use of Scripture is more questionable. (Some of them are simply strange, like his completely decontextualized quote from Song of Solomon.)
Second, he takes his thesis that God will reward those who are generous givers - with which I fully agree - and then moves forward to say that giving leads to "Guaranteed Financial Results" (the title of the last chapter). He writes, "... I can tell you without hesitation that if you will apply the principles I've outlined in these chapters, you will get remarkable, positive financial results—guaranteed." He has a more Biblical framework in mind than it might seem: he follows by arguing that giving is important because it does work in our hearts, which is what God is really after. I agree with that, but I do not think that we will always find ourselves financially blessed simply because we give. I believe God will meet our needs, but the overwhelming poverty of many generous believers throughout history and Scripture runs contrary to his argument.
The Psalms frequently cry out that the wicked prosper and the good do not. The prophets repeatedly make much of the fact that wicked rich men are crushing the poor. The widow in her generous giving of two mites did not suddenly become wealthy, and Christ never said she would.
How then do we reconcile Jesus teaching that when we give we will receive with the reality that we do not always receive greater money than we have given? I don't know the exact details, but I know that the rewards we are promised are not merely earthly, but heavenly. Morris notes this, but only once. The book repeatedly emphasizes financial rewards in this world, and the lack of a heavenly perspective is a sore loss.
On a different note, Morris repeatedly denies any pride, but spends the book recounting all the ways and times he and his family have been used mightily by God. If there were a more even balance between these and other stories, this might not seem so bad, but every chapter has several examples of his generosity. By contrast, I am reminded of Jesus' teaching in the same Sermon on the Mount passages that Morris frequently quoted:
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:1-4)
Scripture's emphasis is on secrecy, not boasting. Morris says "Believe me, I'm not [boasting]" (p. 125), and I believe he meant it. If so, he needs to recognize that he would seem lest boastful if he focused less on himself, more on others, and above all more on Scripture.
Perhaps the oddest part of the book was his elaborate discussion on the Spirit of Mammon. For most of a chapter, he discusses an individual spirit of Mammon that he claims is "on" money unless the Spirit of God is, referencing Luke 16:13. He claims there is an individual spirit named Mammon that prevents money from multiplying for the kingdom unless money is actively submitted to God. The first problem here is that he builds his case for a "spirit of mammon" not from Scripture but from Milton's Paradise Lost, which is fine poetry, and not always terrible theology, but hardly an authority. Second, the use of the word "mammon" here is misleading. All modern translations generally use "wealth," as that's all the word means. Finally, there is no Biblical basis for his claim that there is an individual Spirit of Mammon. I don't doubt that there are demons that specialize in leading people astray via greed and money. That being said, I see no warrant at all from Scripture for Morris claim that "[in] the Biblical sense of the word, mammon is the spirit that rests on money. Did you know that all money has a spirit on it? It either has the Spirit of God on it or the spirit of mammon" (p. 77). Men's hearts are led astray by demonic lies or led rightly by the Holy Spirit. Money and electronic numbers are just paper and electrons.
Strangely, Morris almost immediately contradicts his previous argument by quoting Jesus teaching that we are to use "unrighteous mammon" to win friends for ourselves to serve the Kingdom, and that we are to be faithful in the unrighteous mammon if we wish to be trusted with real treasure. Jesus would certainly never command us to make use of an evil spirit to accomplish anything. Given how direct Christ is here, just verses after Morris' proof text for his Spirit of Mammon, he ends up backtracking and agreeing with Jesus' message. The result is a confusing mess. While this points to a need for good editing, it also shows his failure to build his case on a good theological and Scriptural foundation.
This and other misuses of Scripture were nearly the worst problems. Scripture speaks clearly about finances; there is no need to add or invent more evidence for what it says. This failing is all the sadder because so much of this book is good. We live in a church culture that often throws tithing out with ceremonial washings, so his emphasis both on tithing and giving beyond our tithes was refreshing.
My greatest disappointment here was that Morris never took a moment to point out that, financial blessings aside, no reward will ever compare with knowing Christ. This was a book on the blessed life, but it completely misses what Christ calls blessed: knowing God. Abundant life, eternal life, is knowing God and the one He sent. Finances are petty distractions in comparison. They are important, as Morris rightly notes, as a gauge of our hearts. But Morris never stopped to note that Jesus Christ is our real reward for faithfulness in this life.
I find it very difficult to sum up my thoughts on this book. Morris' passion for people with gifts of giving is evident. His love of the body of Christ is clear. His love of God is plain to see. His message is important. Christians do need to value and practice generosity and giving more, and God does delight in our joyful giving. He does reward, though most of the rewards are eternal. If Morris were simply another preacher of the prosperity gospel, it would be easy to dismiss his missteps as part of his misguided theology, but his underlying theology regarding finances is not the issue.
The real problems here are over-application and a lack of Christ-centeredness. What has been true in his life is not universally true. Many Christians will give generously and live in relative (or true) poverty some or all their lives. Paul's life alone is evidence of that.
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11-13)
The antidote to this problem is simple: a deeper reliance on Scripture itself, without recourse to anecdote and misinterpretation.
More importantly, we must always find our joy in Christ alone, no matter whether we are richly blessed or utterly destitute in this age. Our reward is knowing Him, above any other blessing He gives. That is the point that must be made, and it's the point that Morris completely missed. The real blessed life is to know Christ, no matter our circumstances.
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6 responses:
Good post. However, I personally know that using Chris Krycho's reading time as a base measure for your own reading can prove disappointing (he can read exceptionally quickly).
Good post and good review.
The sad part is that many people will read this without applying discernment and take it as "gospel", so to speak, then be disappointed when what may have proved true to this point in the author's life, does not prove out true for them. As you pointed out, many give sacrificially, but do not receive financial prosperity because of it. Rather, I believe scripture teaches that if getting because you give is your motive for giving, it is a wicked motive.
I know I'm responding to a very old blog but just in case anyone else may fall upon this. Though I don't know the author, I can safely say he has never experienced what Robert Morris is describing in his book. In a time where Americans give only 3% of their income to God, it is very clear that people do not understand the truth of relying on Jesus to provide for their needs. The point of the book is not reliance on God to provide money but reliance on God to provide period. The blogger assumes this to be money because money is the method whereby God meets our needs. To say we should rely on God, scripture, etc is to assume that God doesn't use money. Because I know what it's like to go from "rags to riches" spiritually speaking through giving as described by Robert Morris, to say that it is self serving or unbiblical is just ridiculous because it requires great faith and great reliance on God to give in that manner. The truth is that most Christian really don't believe God will meet their needs so they resort to believing "balancing" doctrines that accommodate their unbelief and continue to talk theoretically. It has always amazed me how there can be people who testify of God doing great things through their lives and when they try to let other people know so they can experience the same thing, they are accused of being boastful.
nospam2k—don't be too quick to assume that I've not seen God's provision in my life, nor that my disagreement with Robert Morris has anything at all to do with my "balancing" habits regarding finances. It doesn't. I have a hard time seeing Morris' continual references to how God has blessed Him—while always talking about how much he has given—as anything but direct disobedience to Jesus' instruction in the Sermon on the Mount:
"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
"Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
Matthew 6:1-4
That, combined with the misinterpretations I saw throughout the book, led to my fairly middle-of-the-road review—a generous take on Morris's teaching in this book, in my opinion.
As I noted multiple times in the course of the review, I'm all in favor of giving abundantly to God and trusting Him to provide our needs. My concern was that Morris couched "meeting our needs" in a sense that goes far beyond Biblical language. Being comfortable, having nice cars, and living the American dream is, in many regards, a stumbling block to the Gospel—unless you think that Jesus' words about the rich young (Matthew 19:16-30) ruler aren't equally applicable to we Americans who are richer than anyone in the world!
God may or may not choose to bless us financially as we give. Morris, like many in the Prosperity Gospel movement, leaves no room for poverty for those who give generously... but Jesus does.
I'm surprised that you responded to such an old post ;) Anyway, I'll quickly make 2 points. #1 Declaring your good works before men is different then teaching on a subject and using yourself as an example. The Apostle Paul does this many times in scripture. A quick example is when Paul boldly states "I labored more abundantly then they all." Yes, he states "not I but Christ in me", but if MT 6 is to be applied then Paul was wrong to even state the case, as clearly he is letting the right hand know what the left hand is doing, which I'm sure you will agree cannot be true. Morris is also doing this. Teaching by example. #2 The rich young ruler gets quoted out of context a lot. Jesus' command to him was a swap of an already gained temporal riches for eternal riches; of which I will call phase 2 of "the blessed life" being able to give back the blessing God has given in order to gain a greater blessing in eternity. BUT, not to be disconnected from further blessing in this life. Remember, when Peter states just following the departure of the rich young ruler "we have given up everything to follow you, what will we get" Jesus didn't say "don't talk like that, just be happy with eternity". He specifically says "no who has given up x,y,z shall receive x,y,z X100!!!! IN THIS LIFE and eternal life. You state God may or may not choose to bless us financially as we give, but God states emphatically that he PROMISES he will bless us financially. I completely agree with you about the problem with "stuff" in America but that doesn't apply in this context because it is the continual giving away of stuff. Think of it this way. What if everytime you got stuff you tried to give it away and the faster you gave it away the faster you got more, do you really think that you would be all that excited about getting more? That is the principle to consider. So long as you keep pouring out the oil, there will be more oil. But when you stop pouring the oil stops. The blessing is in distribution not receiving. But distribution can only continue through receiving. If every church (pastors AND members) would apply the biblical principles found in Rober Morris' book, preachers wouldn't have to keep begging for money for half the service.
Comment notification helps! :)
On Paul, you're stretching the text well beyond what it covers. Matthew 6 is expressly addressing the issue of giving, something Paul never goes into regarding what he himself gives. Further, Paul notes whenever he is "boasting" that he is doing so foolishly, so as to make a point. I might be more lenient with Morris if he likewise called himself a fool for even bringing it up, but instead he gave himself a written pat on the back and directly defied Scriptural injunctions against talking about one's own giving.
While I recognize where you're coming from regarding the allegedly-financial nature of Jesus' promises, I ultimately disagree, and quite deeply, based on the testimony of those who Jesus was addressing when he spoke of receiving one hundred-fold. None of them had money to speak of. The apostles never had much money; certainly Peter never owned a hundred fishing boats, though that's exactly what he and his brothers had left, or anything close.
Many of the early churches were very poor, or had many members who were very poor. James and Paul both address churches where it is clear that financial hardship is normal for some of these people. Paul lived in deep poverty much of the time, to the point that he was incredibly grateful for the gift the Philippians sent him—and noted immediately that he had learned to be content in times of wealth and poverty. If you and Morris are to be believed, that situation of poverty simply shouldn't have happened...
And what about all the men and women today who give and do not receive? Is God's promise void to them? (I know those people, by the way.) Of course not! But they are, as Jesus says elsewhere, storing up for themselves "treasures in heaven," where moth and rust and thief have no power. We receive help from the body of Christ, where above all we have friends and family that fill the holes from those left behind.
Yes, we should give, and sacrificially. And yes, God will provide for our needs as we do so. But only our needs, not our desires—and those are vastly different things.
Regarding the rich young ruler, you're right that Jesus does not condemn the having of money. Nor do I. I do, however, think the passage pretty unambiguously points out that money is a deep hindrance to the gospel's work in our hearts. Moreover, there is nothing in the passage that suggests that the man would receive more wealth if he came and followed Jesus... to the contrary: if that were so, his giving up his wealth would be no obstacle to his following Christ at all. The only reason it is an obstacle is because the expectation was that Jesus' followers would have little, not much.
To sum up, as I said in my original review, Morris says a lot of good things. They're just mixed with a lot of bad, especially in the way he handles Scripture.
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