Years ago a guy named Christian Smith did a survey of young adults where he discovered and named an understanding of God that threatens true faith. He called it “moralistic therapeutic deism”. He pointed out that moralistic therapeutic deism is not just a problem in how young adults understand God, but in how many North American Christians understand God.

Two of the ideas at the heart of this understanding of God are that:

1. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
2. God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when he is needed to resolve a problem.

Christian Smith was quick to point out that these are lies that do not reflect the God that we know through the Bible. God created us for more than happiness. God is not merely someone we call when things go wrong.  When we center our lives around ourselves and our happiness, calling on God only when we feel like we need God, we miss out on the blessing of living in relationship with God. Because if happiness is our goal, we will never have enough.

One of the reasons that we fail to honor God in the ways we use the land that God has given us is that we do not think that we have enough. We think if we just work one more day, or if we could just get more resources, we will have what we need; when in fact, all that we need has been provided for us. Happiness is not the goal. Life with God is the goal. Pray that God would equip you to reject the lies of moralistic therapeutic deism that stop you from living faithfully with God.

Question to Ponder: What are some practical ways that I can care for the land that God has placed me on? How will doing that help me live faithfully with God?

This week’s devotions are adapted from the book, The Land: Place a Gift, Promise, and Challenge in Biblical Faith  by Walter Brueggemann. Fortress Press, Minneapolis. 2002.