Forwarding Empty Promises

“It’s on you, Sis…

IN 9 MINUTES SOMETHING WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY,
BUT YOU HAVE TO TELL 9 SISTERS YOU LOVE THEM INCLUDING ME!!!! “

This is from a forward I received a couple of weeks ago.  It was a “hug from God” that came via e-mail.  It seems that if you get one you somehow feel obligated to pass it on.  Are there people who really believe that in nine minutes something wonderful will happen if they send it?  What possible basis could there be for that promise?

The one I got today said this: “Good Luck” (with a picture of an angel).

“GUARDIAN ANGEL”

“Forward this message the same day you received it.  It may sound ridiculous, but it is right on time.  We believe that something is about to happen.  Angels exist, only sometimes they haven’t got wings and we call them friends; you are one of them.  Something wonderful is about to happen to you and your friends.  Tomorrow at 11:09 AM somebody will address you and tell you some thing you have been waiting to hear.  Please do not break this.  Send it to at least 7 of your friends.”

These often come to me from Christian sisters.  Are they just trying to send me a greeting that says they’re thinking of me?  Or, do they really believe that a guardian angel will bring me good luck or that if I send something to nine friends that in exactly nine minutes (from when?) some wonderful thing will happen to me – and to them because they sent it to me?

Many of these, especially the ones that invoke the name of God and then promise ”good luck” are Biblically way off track.  There is nothing said in the Bible about good luck, only God’s sovereignty over every detail of our lives.  James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

But, most of all I think they violate the commandment not to take the Lord’s name in vain.  The truth is that we cannot predict or promise good or bad in anyone else’s lives as if we know the mind of God.  When we say we do then we are taking His name in vain, using it without respect or reverence for Him.

God clearly tells us that all things work together for the good of those who love Him who are called according to His purposes.  (Romans 8:28).  So, for Christians, even when things that seem hard to us come into our lives, they are a gift from God for our ultimate good.  He grows our faith and builds our character through difficult circumstances.

I know that most people don’t really take these things seriously – or that’s what they want us to believe.  But, if the instructions say to send it to nine friends – there will be nine names in the address box.  I often want to respond asking how they were blessed at exactly 11:09 the next day.  But I don’t. If it’s sent on I assume you believe in its promise to some degree.

I guess that the real reason I am writing this is because I am afraid for the faith of so many who pass these on through their email.  What does it say to God about our faith in Him alone as our provider and sustainer?  He is the only One who can bring real joy into our lives.  His Word clearly warns against superstition called divination in the Bible. Ezekial 13:7 says, ” Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, whenever you have said, ‘Declares the LORD,’ although I have not spoken?”

We may know some circumstantial happiness here but if we want joy it will come from faith in God’s goodness all the time – not by some stroke of fate or good luck brought on by guardian angels or the act of someone obediently responding to an email.

Jesus said, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34b) and we know from Psalm 44 and Acts 15:8 that God knows the heart.  He looks on the heart when people can only see the outside of us. Will God see faith in Him or superstition when He looks at our hearts?

“Religious” chain mail that comes into our inboxes from well-intentioned friends need to be deleted.  If we want to let someone know we are thinking of them or want to pray for them – we just need tell them that.  It will be a far more effective way of relating our dependence and faith in the Lord God Almighty than anything that speaks of luck or guardian angels (which are quite real but they take direction only from God).

Discernment is a discipline of the Christian faith.  Let’s use it when our inboxes are full of promises that we can’t keep.