Are we prostitutes???

Well my bothers and sisters in Christ a friend of mine sent me this in an email over the weekend and it about knocked me down. It takes something pretty hard core to get my attention. Well guess what this did in a major way.

Check it out....I am still thinking on it!


A number of years ago, I had the privilege of teaching at a school of ministry.
My students were hungry for God, and I was constantly searching for ways to
challenge them to fall more in love with Jesus and to become voices for revival
in the Church. I came across a quote attributed most often to Rev. Sam Pascoe.
It is a short version of the history of Christianity, and it goes like this:

"Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and
became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to
Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise."

Some of the students were only 18 or 19 years old--barely out of diapers--and I
wanted them to understand and appreciate the importance of the last line, so I
clarified it by adding, "An enterprise. That's a business." After a few moments
Martha, the youngest student in the class, raised her hand. I could not imagine
what her question might be. I thought the little vignette was self-explanatory,
and that I had performed it brilliantly. Nevertheless, I acknowledged Martha's
raised hand, "Yes, Martha." She asked such a simple question, "A business? But
isn't it supposed to be a body?" I could not envision where this line of
questioning was going, and the only response I could think of was, "Yes." She
continued, "But when a body becomes a business, isn't that a prostitute?"

The room went dead silent. For several seconds no one moved or spoke. We were
stunned, afraid to make a sound because the presence of God had flooded into the
room, and we knew we were on holy ground. All I could think in those sacred
moments was,
"Wow, I wish I'd thought of that." I didn't dare express that thought aloud. God
had taken over the class.

Martha's question changed my life. For six months, I thought about her question
at least once every day. "When a body becomes a business, isn't that a
prostitute?" There is only one answer to her question. The answer is "Yes." The
American Church, tragically,
is heavily populated by people who do not love God. How can we love Him? We
don't even know Him; and I mean really know Him.

... I stand by my statement that most American Christians do not know God--much
less love Him. The root of this condition originates in how we came to God. Most
of us came to Him because of what we were told He would do for us. We were
promised that He would bless us in life and take us to heaven after death. We
married Him for His money, and we don't care if He lives or dies as long as we
can get His stuff. We have made the Kingdom of God into a business,
merchandising His anointing. This should not be. We are commanded to love God,
and are called to be the Bride of Christ--that's pretty intimate stuff. We are
supposed to be His lovers. How can we love someone we don't even know? And even
if we do know someone, is that a guarantee that we truly love them? Are we
lovers or prostitutes?

I was pondering Martha's question again one day, and considered the question,
"What's the difference between a lover and a prostitute?" I realized that both
do many of the same things, but a lover does what she does because she loves. A
prostitute pretends to love, but only as long as you pay. Then I asked the
question, "What would happen if God stopped paying me?"

For the next several months, I allowed God to search me to uncover my motives
for loving and serving Him. Was I really a true lover of God? What would happen
if He stopped blessing me? What if He never did another thing for me? Would I
still love Him? Please understand, I believe in the promises and blessings of
God. The issue here is not whether God blesses His children; the issue is the
condition of my heart. Why do I serve Him? Are His blessings in my life the
gifts of a loving Father, or are they a wage that I have earned or a
bribe/payment to love Him? Do I love God without any conditions? It took several
months to work through these questions. Even now I wonder if my desire to love
God is always matched by my attitude and behavior. I still catch myself being
disappointed with God and angry that He has not met some perceived need in my
life. I suspect this is something which is never fully resolved, but I want more
than anything else to be a true lover of God.

So what is it going to be? Which are we, lover or prostitute? There are no
prostitutes in heaven, or in the Kingdom of God for that matter, but there are
plenty of former prostitutes in both places. Take it from a recovering
prostitute when I say there is no substitute for an unconditional, intimate
relationship with God. And I mean there is no palatable substitute available to
us (take another look at Matthew 7:21-23 sometime). We must choose.

-Dr. David Ryser

In my opinion he is right on the money! Share this with others and let me know what you think about this!

God bless....Tom