According to the Westminster Catechism, the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. However, according to the me-ology that is being passed off as theology by many in the Christian world today, the chief end of God is to serve the needs and wants of man!” It is heard in the preaching, the praying, the singing and the sayings; the prevailing belief in the Christian world today seems to be that we don’t exist for God but rather God exists for us! Now this is really nothing new! Today’s me-ology is just a re-branding of age-old humanism, which is by definition a doctrine, attitude, or way of life centered on human interests or values. In many ways today, we say with our lips that it’s about God, but in reality, in many cases it is all about that unholy trinity of me, myself, and I!
Here’s a prime example of Me-ology!
A few years ago, the Prayer of Jabez was the current rage in Christian circles. The prayer of Jabez was an obscure prayer prayed by a man named Jabez who is only mentioned a grand total of two (2) verses in the entire Bible! However, after a book was written about it; preachers were preaching about it, and choirs were singing about it! All over, people were excited about the prayer of Jabez! Its popularity was a grand example of me-ology! The biblical text says in I Chronicles 4:10, “And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.” (1Ch 4:10 KJV) Now, the Bible doesn’t tell us much about his situation or how he arrived at the point to pray this prayer, but I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that the modern application has taken it completely out of context! But I mention this prayer because it articulates our modern me-ology! Listen to what he asked: “Oh that thou wouldest ‘bless me indeed. Enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it might not grieve me!” Do you see all of the references to me and my in this prayer? Many Christians today hold this as their model of prayer instead of what is commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew!
The Obsession with Blessings is Me-ology!
Everybody it seems is seeking blessings or seeking to be blessed, however, this attitude and pursuit is totally out of line with scripture and the will of God! The scriptures teach that the blessings of God are by-products of our covenant relationship with God. In other words, we really don’t have to ask God for blessings, because the blessings are part of covenant deal! If we want to be blessed, all we have to do is be in right relationship and fellowship with the One who blesses! In fact, if we were to read the Bible carefully, we would discover passages such as Deuteronomy 28:1-14, Psalm 23:6, Matthew 6:31-33, and others which seem to suggest that it is not God’s will for us to be seeking and running after blessings, but rather for blessings to be seeking and running after us!
The “Church-Shopping” Mentality is Me-ology!
People even look for and join churches today based on a me-ology! They look for and join a church based solely on what that church can do for them! But you shouldn’t join a church with a consumer attitude! You shouldn’t look for a church with a “Wally-World” (Wal-Mart) shopper mentality. You should join a particular church because that is where you have been led by God to serve in ministry! I’ve heard people say that they didn’t join a certain church because that church didn’t have a particular ministry. Well, it could be that maybe they are the ones who were supposed to start that ministry! To paraphrase the words of President John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what the church can do for you, to rather what can you do for the church!”
The Church Has Me-ology!
And even the church has me-ology! Many churches today are primarily inwardly focused! In other words, many churches exist primarily for themselves! But in the biblical model the church exists for “others!” The church was not created for the church; the church was created to be a means to minister to others in the name of Christ! The church was created to be the extension of Jesus and the extension of the ministry of Jesus! He himself said: “Take as your model the human one. He did not come to be catered to, but to serve and to expend his life as a ransom in behalf of multitudes.” (Mat 20:28 MIT) Jesus is the example for the church! He did nothing for himself! He came into the world for others! He lived for others! He performed miracles for others! He went to the cross for others! He died for others! God raised him from the dead for others! The Bible says that even now, he sits at the right hand of the Father making intercessions for others! And one day, he is coming back again for others! Now if Jesus was all about being for others, shouldn’t it be only reasonable to conclude that the church he built was to be primarily for others? I would like to submit that one of the reasons why the world doesn’t take the church seriously is because the church, like the whole of society, has been infected with and is unduly influenced by me-ology!
We all have been influenced by Me-ology!
WAKE UP PEOPLE! Read the Bible for yourself! Don’t just take “Bishop Send Me An Offering,” Pastor Only Pay Your Tithes” and “Prophet Blessed Oil For Twenty Dollars” word for it! It’s not about us! God created us for his glory, not the other way around! We belong to Him! The Psalmist says: “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein!” The very reason for our existence is to glorify God! The ultimate good of your life is not to be a millionaire or to be successful in your chosen field of endeavor; it is to glorify God! Your life is not about you! It doesn’t matter who you are! Like Jesus, you and I were born to be physical and visible expressions of the invisible God! People often ask why God allows evil in the world. But the real question is not why God allows it; the real question is why do we allow it? God does not perpetrate or allow the evil and injustices in the world; we do! The only way God is going to do anything in the world is through human agency! But we tie the hands of God when we are preoccupied with me-ology instead of correct theology!
The Way out of Me-ology
Well, how to we get out of me-ology? By following Jesus! Jesus said: “If any man will come after me, he must deny himself (give up his me-ology; his selfish way of life) take up his cross (accept and seek to fulfill the ultimate calling of God upon his life) and follow me (my commandment, teachings and example) daily!” As we daily follow Jesus, he will free us from me-ology. And as all of us are freed from me-ology, we will come to realize that living life that celebrates “we” and “us” is much more fulfilling than a life constricted by the narrow focus of me, myself and I! For what does it profit a man (what good is it?) if he should gain the whole world (he can’t, but even if he could) and lose his soul (himself; his very reason for existence, in the process)?
May the Lord deliver us all from Me-ology! Amen!