Yay! My kid is dead!!!
John Piper (Pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis) is not a fan of the “prosperity” Gospel. Yay – We agree on something!
But then, he goes on to say…
I’ll tell you what makes Jesus look beautiful: It’s when you smash your car and your little girl goes flying through the windshield and lands dead on the street! And, through your pain, you say, “God is enough! He is good! He will take care of us! He is my treasure!” – John Piper
Don’t get me wrong – I get what Mr. Piper is trying to communicate here (I used to write similar content for blogs, etc…). But, really – are Christians supposed to feel less Christian (or guilty) for not praising the all-powerful God after He kills their kid?
How is this any less kool-aid crazy than the 2011 Doomsdayers who sold all of their possessions (and burned their savings) because they just knew that God was going to take them “home” on May 21.
If I came around the corner to a scene of an accident where a father was standing over his dead little girl, saying, “God is enough! He is good! He is my treasure!” Well – I’d hope that he was simply in shock.
Maybe it wasn’t that Jesus likes being “good” or “enough” or “treasure” to his followers. Maybe what actually makes him happy is the actual kid – dead on the road… Consider these verses (from the NEW Testament):
Jesus answered them, “Honor your father and your mother; and, the one who speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death! Matthew 15:3-4
“You get rid of God’s command so you won’t be inconvenienced in following the religious fashions! Moses said, ‘Respect your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone denouncing father or mother should be killed!’ Mark 7:9-10
“But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.” – Luke 19:27
I totally understand what John Piper was trying to communicate related to the difference between prosperity and suffering for Jesus – but I also think it’s a perfect example of the FINE line between being an obedient christian and being a bat-sh*t crazy lunatic… Every time I see this clip, all I can think of is the congregation “crowd surfing” the dead girl’s body while chanting, “God Is Enough! He Is Good!”….
Tweet
They played this clip at a church service that I went to a few years ago. I had never been so creeped out in all my life with all of the head-bobbing and “amen”ing…
I’ve never been back to church since, and I agree – it makes Christianity seem absolutely nuts!
At first I was going to try and defend John Piper (as I’ve read a number of his books), but after watching the whole clip, I guess you are right.
I watched my son get trampled to death by a horse three years ago and the last thing through my mind was “God is good”. Does that make me a bad Christian? If so, so be it… What did my son do to deserve such a painful death?