"How soon are we broken on the soft pillow of ease! Adam in paradise was overcome, when Job on the dunghill was a conqueror." - Thomas Watson
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven." - (Mat 19:23)
Comfort and ease are not sins, but they are temptations. With all of the modern amenities which aid our lives, this generation must watch ourselves with more care than any other generation in history. It wasn’t Job that fell after he lost everything, but Adam that fell in the comfort of paradise. It wasn’t in the decades when Noah was building the ark that he got drunk and pranced around naked, but when he had the idle time of celebration short after the flood. Israel didn’t worship idols when they were receiving whips to their backs in Egypt, but when they had their freedom. Jesus didn’t say that poor people hardly enter the kingdom, but that the rich hardly do. It wasn’t the Pharisees with their bags of money that impressed our Lord with their giving, but the widow with a single mite. We must beware our times of prosperity. When it’s easy to live, it’s easy to fall.
Why is this? Why in the world are prosperity, comfort and ease so dangerous for our souls while tribulation tends to be so beneficial? Below are a few reasons:
- Tribulation keeps us praying. If I’m having trouble today, I’m going to take the time to pray.
- Tribulation focuses our hope. It helps us to keep hope in Christ and rejoice in Him, not in what this world can offer. It’s easier to say “God is all I need”, when God is all I have.
- Tribulation makes us “needy” and needy people are the ones God chooses, not the ones that think they have it all figured out. "Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He has promised to those who love Him?" - (Jam 2:5) A Christian is someone who has recognized his or her “neediness” and put their faith in the Only one able to save and provide – Jesus Christ.
- Prosperity provides temptation that wouldn’t be in our lives otherwise. A poor man has less temptation for materialism, because he cannot afford it. A beautiful woman has much more temptation for fornication because there are plenty of ungodly men ready to throw themselves at her feet.
- Prosperity provides a means for Satan to put our focus on what we have, rather than Who gave it to us. It’s like a child forgetting about its parents while ripping open Christmas presents. “When God starts to bless, the devil starts to mess.” When God blesses materially, Satan’s first response is to turn the eyes of the believer off of the Lord, and onto the blessing.
- Ease and comfort promote laziness which degrades our spiritual maturity. "The soul of the sluggard desires and has nothing; but the soul of the hard worker shall be made fat." - (Pro 13:4)
- Ease and comfort promote pride. Man is a miserably forgetful creature. When he arrives on top of the mountain his focus tends to be how hard he trained himself, rather than Who gave him legs in the first place! “So let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” - (1Co 10:12)
- Ease and comfort tend to reduce our faith and confidence in the Lord and turn it to idols. “Woe to those at ease in Zion, and those trusting in the mountain of Samaria” - (Amo 6:1a)
The next time you think that your small bank account, difficult boss at work and your lack of friends are indicators of God’s chastisement, remember that the Lord tests us only to that which we can handle. He must think well of you! That rough life is no indicator of God’s disapproval. An easy life is no indicator of God’s favor. Let us remember that we are needy. We have nothing without our Lord, and we can do nothing without Him. Ease and comfort in this world are but a momentary flicker… and so is tribulation. If you are poor and going through hardship, be thankful. If you are rich and comfortable, be careful.
"Our Christianity loves its ease and comfort too well to take up anything so rough and heavy as a cross. And yet what does following Jesus mean? What is it to walk in His steps?" - Anonymous
“And He said to them, Watch and keep yourselves from covetousness. For a man's life is not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.” - (Luk 12:15)