Satisfaction Guaranteed

"Guaranteed to make you thin in just three weeks!"
"Lifetime warranty on all our merchandise."
"If your pizza isn't there in thirty minutes or less—it's free!"

Guarantees—it's the American way, so much so that we're suspicious of any product or service that doesn't come with a warranty. Our trust extends no further than the terms of the guarantee. Whereas the woman in Proverbs 31 "considers a field and buys it"; we read Consumer Reports and scour the fine print for terms and conditions—it's just good common sense we justify.

 

The mistake we make is trying to apply the same principles to the Christian life: "I feel called to go to the mission field, but I don't know if that is wise financially." 

We don't want to trust God.

 

What we really want is a guarantee that things will work out in our favor, before we take that step of faith that God has called us to. So we settle for what we know because what we don't know is just too scary. We accept the trade-off—an underlying dissatisfaction with life—so we can stay safe. The American way has led to unhappiness in the Christian way for many of us today.

Going to the mission field is financially seen as risky; there are no guarantees of a nice, fat pension upon retirement.

Desiring to know the outcome of our choices is only natural, which is why Peter asked Jesus,

 

We have left everything and followed you. What then will we have? (Matthew 19:27).

 

Jesus replied that those who leave all to follow Him will indeed be blessed for doing so and will ultimately want for nothing.

 

But we still want the details of those blessings in advance—we want guaranteed specifics. Well, here is a guarantee for believers, For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).