SENSATIONALISM

There is a danger in Christianity to sensationalise our walk with the Lord in a predominantly earthly sense. We tend to believe at times that future perfections should be present realities, and that what is being prepared for us for another day, should be owned by us today. The New Testament, however, gives us a primarily different take on what we can expect in this life if we choose to follow the Lord. Although through the gospels, epistles and the book of Revelation, we see that while God provides for His people, gives them spiritual gifts and provides families and relations, these things are given in a context of suffering, service and a call to selflessness and sacrifice. Yes, God has given us, 'all things richly to enjoy,' but the formerly stated context will always be the setting by which these things will be enjoyed, and primarily this enjoyment will be spiritual. 

Riches, the Apostle Paul says, often takes wings and flies away, and God allows such things so that our heart will always be for the heavenly Kingdom, over our earthly habitations, relationships and possessions. While many Churches now and many Christians try to define our walk with the Lord as being one of excitement, heroic glory, ease and total satisfaction, via a back-drop of production, hype and the marketing mechanisms and ideologies of the world, the true sense and substance of the Church has been and always will be a Church and a people that walk out their walk in a simple and straightforward sense, uncluttered, unburdened and unhindered by the deceitful trappings of sensationalism, sense and emotional hype. 

Sensationalism has the goal of making Christianity appealing by way of human desires and a human understanding of what we should seek, desire, strive for and expect. True spirituality realises that everything we have is a gift given by God, and that all such things need to be used for His Kingdom and continually given back to Him. Not only this, but true spirituality realises that at any time, much or all of what we own could be justly taken from us; 'The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord'. Only in this way will His people, when the storms and tribulations of life come, be able to continue to walk with the Lord. Otherwise our hearts quickly become doubtful and even angry at the Lord, believing that we were called to something other than what is clearly laid out in the Word. Therefore, the test of true religion is this; would we still follow God if we lost everything? (i.e a Job like experience). 

Sensationalism in the Church and amongst His people, is not just unprofitable, but down right dangerous and in some cases lethal to undermining the work of faith that God is seeking to build in His people. For we walk by faith, not by sight. God seeks to mature, grow and benefit His people via faith, and this is often completely contrary to the false promises leaders and proponents of sensationalism offer. Faith involves suffering and perplexity, and it calls on the follower of God to follow the Lord despite all evidences of what the senses tell the Christian. There are times when sense needs, not only to be resisted, but to be put to death via the Holy Spirit. Not only should we not be accepting a Christianity of sensationalism, but we should be actively seeking to reveal its wrong, deceitful and harmful substance and its subsequent effects.