Title Beware of Vending Machine Faith
Isaiah (155) Beware of vending machine faith (Isaiah 65:13-16)
< The deeper the experience, the more careful you are >
The text well describes a situation in which blessings are given to those who are in the truth and suffering is given to those who are not in the truth. God is the God of truth (verse 16). Therefore, believers should always strive to be in the truth. The problem is that many people are wrong about the truth.
There are two misuses of faith. One is ‘believing below the level’ and the other is ‘belief above the level’. The former is distrust and the latter is superstition. It is not okay to ignore tongues, healing, and revelation unconditionally, but it is also wrong to believe in them too much and make them the standard of spirituality. In other words, it is wrong to reject a phenomenon that is against reason, but it is also wrong to accept disorderly emotional disturbance as being filled with the Holy Spirit. Truth is not based on emotion.
There are gifts and miracles. However, you must not wander around like an affair to only experience mysticism in the depths of your emotions. There is an old saying, “After winning the war, do not take off your helmet!” The deeper your experience, the more you control yourself with the Word. “What does the Bible teach?” is more important than “who has what experience?”
Freud viewed religion as a psychological defense against threats such as earthquakes, floods, disease, and death. However, the truth of Christianity does not stop at the level of merely psychological defense. The truth of Christianity not only provides spiritual comfort, but also creates a healthy character and life. Giving only psychological comfort through emotional experiences is like a rainbow that appears and disappears for a while after the rain. The right truth is to change your life and personality so that you can smell the fragrance of Jesus.
< Beware of vending machine beliefs >
Believing that when you pray for something you must have it can be a superstition if you go too far. Lloyd-Jones, a famous British preacher and author, called such a belief “the vending machine faith.” Beware of the vending machine beliefs that if you put a coin in, what you want will fall into your hands.
The saying “If you pray, you will succeed” should not be exaggerated. Because it can mislead the listeners. Strictly speaking, saying that you deserve what you do for whatever you do is wrong. Prayer is a 'declaration of self-renunciation' before it is a 'assertion of self-request'. When God's will intervenes in a place where one's will is abandoned, God grants the blessing of answering prayers for those who pray according to God's will.
Don't misunderstand spirituality as being peculiar, difficult, and grotesque. He neglected his family and work place and went to the prayer center frequently, fasted and prayed for 40 days frequently to become familiar with the revelations of the last days, said that he prayed for 8 hours every day, and not sleeping with his wife for several years in order to live a holy life is a 'spiritual spirit'. It's not 'one thing', it's 'sick thing'. The Bible does not support such spiritual heroism at all. The spiritual life is not a strange or strange life, but a normal life that pleases God.
People realize too late that they cannot change their own humanity, far from reaching the truth by their own will. It is a vain dream to think that one's will can create the conditions or humanity to be blessed. Humans are pitiful beings who have no choice but to suffer from sneezing and arthritis after performing self-proclaimed spiritual actions. Now, for the sake of the truth, let go of your fake life and be more honest. Just as an artist buys marble even if he is poor, he must first pay the price of being naked if he wants to leave a sound faith.