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God Does not Owe You Anything!

“The LORD rewarded me because of my righteousness, because my hands are clean. He paid me back because I have kept the ways of the LORD and I have not wickedly turned away from my God, because all his judgments are in front of me and I have not turned away from his laws. I was innocent as far as he was concerned. I have kept myself from guilt. The LORD paid me back because of my righteousness, because he can see that my hands are clean.” – Psalm 18:20-24 (GW).
Look again at the passage quoted above. Do you recognize that line of thought? I’m sure you do. It is common today like it was in the Old Testament days for Christians (and even moralists) to come to God reminding Him of how faithful they have been; or to attribute God’s goodness to them as a result of their faithfulness to Him.
Soul-Winners and Preachers, in a sincere desire to de-populate the kingdom of darkness, make bogus claims that living a life of righteousness will shield them from all calamities of life; yet a simple look around our environment quickly reveals that good things happen to bad people – and bad things to good people too.
Of course, when we approach God based on our righteousness, we do it sincerely; making reference to men of old like David (as in the passage above), Nehemiah (see Neh.13) and the like. Besides we've worked so hard to overcome temptations and live right; some form of reward to us wouldn't be bad.
In an earlier post, I have addressed more conclusively this issue of Inordinate Expectations as it affects us Christians, but since it’s so crucial to our walk with God, I bring it up again from a slightly different perspective. I recognize it’s a natural tendency, but I pray and hope the Word will correct our bad tendencies and put us right.
*****
We now turn to Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Tax Collector) – as recorded in Luke 18:9-14. The first point to note is the purpose of that parable. Vs.9 tells us that Jesus “…spoke this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves, that they were righteous, and despised others.”
Sadly and painfully, a lot of us fall into this category. We’ve prided ourselves so much in the things we do for God and in things the Lord has done in us that we use every opportunity to use it to intimidate our “less-privileged” fellows. We come to God with an attitude of “God, I’ve done my part; you have to do Yours-o!” And when He finally grants our prayer request, we will be like, “I’m not surprised He did it; I’ll only be surprised if He didn't”, instead of an attitude of gratitude. Sad!!!
Let’s look again at the prayer of the Pharisee; but before then, notice that he didn't even say it out (vs.11). God who sees the heart knows what you’re thinking. Hear his thought: “God, I thank You that I am not like other men – swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I tithe on all things, as many as I acquire.” [11b-12 (EMTV)]
His list is impressive, isn't it? Just like yours too! Apart from listing the bad things he does not do, he went ahead to list the “spectacularly” good things he does: (1) Fasting and (2) Tithing.
Interestingly, when I was younger, the in-thing for Christians then was Fasting. Believers challenge themselves to 6-12, 6-6, Full-Day Dry, 3 Days Dry, 7 Days Dry, 21 Days, 40 Days and all sorts. I came across books that teach how to fast long-term (for days), how to manage your body during the period and how to break long-term fasts in such a way that you don’t die in the process.
Recently however, the emphasis shifted to Tithing. I once came across a church’s Bible-Study Outline for the year: eight (EIGHT) consecutive Sundays were devoted to teaching Tithe! That’s more than a tithe of Sundays in the year. What pained me most was that in His entire earthly ministry, Jesus never gave a direct teaching on tithing. The few times He even mentioned it was in the course of reprimanding the Pharisees. 8 Sundays!!! Yet we claim to follow His footsteps.
Anyway, back to our discussion, let us remember that God has willed that all roads to Him must pass through Jesus Christ. He is THE Way. Our righteousness is like a filthy rag before God (Isa.4:6). Besides, God does not owe you anything; He “paid it all” when He gave us Jesus. Let me close with an excerpt from an earlier post*:
"Living in obedience to GOD is our duty as servants (nay, slaves) of GOD (Eccl.12:13, Acts 5:29, Luke 17:7-10). Whatever we are to get from Him will simply be on His grace and mercy, never on our own merit. Even our initial and continuing access to GOD is not because we have been particularly careful to avoid sin, or that we have done some good to GOD or men; our access is – and always will be – because of the shed blood of Christ (See Eph.2:13&18; Heb.10:19). It is all because of Him, not us. Charlotte Elliot (1789–1871) presented this truth clearly in her popular hymn: “Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, AND THAT Thou bidd’st me come to Thee.” "
“Now that you know this truth, how happy [blessed] you will be if you put it into practice!”
– Jesus Christ (John 13:17 GNB).
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