Don’t you just love complements? We all do, we like people to speak well of us and well to us. But how far would you go to get it?
For example, would you think of visiting doctors until you found one who only told you good things – regardless of your real medical condition? Surely we would never think of using such reasoning with our physical health, but it is amazing how many people do with their spiritual health.
Roger Ellsworth writes of a Church Denomination that conducted a nationwide campaign to attract new members by using this slogan: ‘Instead of fitting me to religion, I found a religion that fits me.’
That’s Ahab all over. You remember the story of Ahab and how he had 400 prophets of Baal. But they were shown to be false prophets of a false god on Mt Carmel by God through Elijah, and were then killed by the people.
Well it seems that Ahab was back to worshipping God, but as we shall see it was a worship that was based on what made him feel-good, and he was determined to keep it that way.
We notice about his feel-good religion is that there were
Ahab wanted to recapture a city in the north, and being afraid to do it on his own he tried to enlist the help of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah. Now the King of Judah agreed on the condition that Ahab first seek the mind of God.
So when Jehoshaphat asked for a prophetic ministry to bring guidance from God on whether to go to battle you can almost see Ahab’s smile – ‘No Problems’ for he had at his disposal who had a whole crowd of them. He was in fact sponsoring 400 of them!
So to all outward appearances he was a king who set a premium on the Word of God and was giving a good example to his people. It was central to his religion. He wanted to be a man who was recognised as being in touch with God. And he was quite happy to make a show of it.
Now there is not necessarily anything wrong with many teachers, after all the early Church in Jerusalem was for a period blessed with the presence and activity of 12 Apostles. However, numbers never guarantees accuracy, and certainly does not guarantee religious authenticity.
And it is indeed a hallmark of feel-good religion to surround yourself with many teachers. And one thing that can be said of charlatan ‘bible-teachers’ is that there never seems to be a shortage of them, nor indeed of the money needed to keep them! It is always easier to find someone who will tell you what you want to hear than one who will tell the truth from God.
1. He made sure they would speak ‘smooth’ things to him
It was soon clear that these were men who told him what he wanted to hear. For you see this King didn’t really want to know what you thought, merely to hear you echo his thoughts after him. You just had to be agreeable. And agreeable is certainly what they were.
If ever he wanted the green light on something all he had to do was bring in these prophets and they would tell him that his plans were pleasing to God — leaving his conscience would be clear.
And they were good at it – even inventive – putting on a bit of a show as v.11 shows. There was nothing dull or boring about these preachers. They built you up, really encouraged you – know what I mean.
2. He disliked being challenged, let alone rebuked.
When Jehoshaphat, recognising the true character of these prophets as tame court stooges, insisted on a true prophet who knew God and was unafraid to declare it, the truth comes out.
Note what Ahab says of the prophet Micaiah – v.8, ie ‘he only brings bad messages!’
Here Ahab really lets the cat out of the bag: he is not interested in truth but only in feelings – how he feels. It was all a matter of feelings, of how he made him feel – ie, everything he says discourages you, makes you feel rotten. Now how can I worship God in that environment?
You see a feel-good religion is one that only brings to you what you want to hear – whether it is the truth or not; and keeps away from you what distresses you – even if it is the truth.
1. The prophets were readily at his disposal – you could say eager, after all this was a very cushy job. So when the king called you came, and what he asked for you gave. This type of preacher is always worried about image and perception, trying hard not to offend or upset. Ahab had given them a cushy job and he knew that this was the best way to guarantee their loyalty! He was pulling the purse strings and they knew it.
2. They sought to protect their own interests. So that even as they were getting Micaiah they were trying to get at him – trying to warn him against saying anything that would contradict what they had said. ‘Everyone else is agreed that the king should go on this mission, and all we want you to do is to go along with the crowd and make it unanimous.’
And when Micaiah eventually did tell the truth, their leader had a go at him right therein front of the king.
3. Anyone who was going to interfere was despised and discarded.
Micaiah was not ordinarily where he could minister to the king. Ahab had isolated Micaiah away from himself.
When for the sake of this other king he does get him it is in a way that seeks from the outset to discredit him and discount his message. He depicts him as a crackpot – ‘He’s a pessimist. Why listen to 1 against 400? His message is always negative.’ He even takes Micaiah’s mocking response (which is to the effect you will only hear what you want to hear) and uses it to minimise the prophet in the eyes of his guest. So Ahab’s demand for the truth was not so much a sign of a change of heart, but rather because he wanted to prove to his guest that Micaiah was exactly what he declared him to be – a man who never had any good to say. So why listen to him?
In other words, this was a ‘closed shop’. Ahab only kept those near him who would comply with him and had no scruples about God. Feel-good religion is very protective, and those in it will do anything to keep it.
The first thing in all of this that we notice is that Ahab is not alone. The pressure for a ‘feel-good’ religion is still alive in the church today.
In John 6:60, 66 we read of those who turned away from Jesus because they said His teaching was “hard”. What was it? In effect he said that they could only be saved through His death and not by their life; and on top of this He pointed out that only by God sovereign call will anyone ever see this. In this He had pulled away their feel-good religion – based on their ides, works, and belief in themselves.
The Apostle Paul warned Timothy about this in 2 Tim 4. He says that there will always be a desire for Bible teachers who will tell you what you want to hear, and it will never be hard to find them.
Let’s face it, Christianity talks about sin and destruction; and these are not popular except when made unreal in popular entertainment. But when pointed at one’s won conscience and life they are rarely welcomed. As Ellsworth writes: ‘These are not teachings that make us leap into the air with joy and eager anticipation.’
As a result many simply ignore the gospel, or look somewhere else for a message that suits them better. Nor is there a shortage of preachers and churches who adjust their message to hold on to these people, or of congregations who seek to dictate to the preacher or session what will and what won’t be taught – and if they don’t get their way they will hold back their giving, their attending and even their membership.
Timothy therefore was commanded by Paul not to surrender to this pressure but to speak “in season and out of season”.
The second thing we notice is that ‘feel-good’ breeds a scavenger mentality. There are always dishonest and deceitful practitioners who will prostitute and distort the truth for your convenience and for their own gain and security.
Contrary to first appearances they are not in it for God, but for money or status, etc; they are not in it for you but only themselves. If you’re mad enough to believe a lie that’s your problem – they are laughing all the way to the bank! If they were really interested in you they would tell you what you really need to know no matter how unpleasant. If they were really interested in God they would tell the truth no matter who was offended by it.
By contrast Timothy was to maintain integrity before God.
The third thing we must note is the tragedy of feel-good religion is that it isolates people from the living God, and fails to bring them real good regardless of how they feel because of it at the time.
It never seemed to dawn on Ahab that Micaiah was not a dreary and harsh man, but that he was just faithfully telling him what God wanted him to hear. Micaiah had no desire to be cruel to Ahab. Instead he was really trying to help him. If he had listened to Micaiah’s message, Ahab could either have prevented the disaster that was about to happen or at the very least prepared himself to meet God. But because he was only interested in a feel-good religion he ended up losing everything including his life.
Now Christianity does have a negative diagnosis about our spiritual condition but, thank God, that diagnosis is intended to yield a positive result. It tells us that in the perfect life and atoning death of Jesus Christ there is a cure for us. Until we face the negative about ourselves we will never be able to embrace the forgiveness and reconciliation in Jesus.
Feel-good religion is very popular today – and it is marketed to meet all sorts of tastes. The essential question though is, ‘What good is a religion that says what I want to hear if I end up losing my soul?’
By contrast we are to commend and follow Micaiah. In our ministries we are not to be directed by the desire of the world but by the declarations of God through His Word. If we are going to honour God as well as do good to people’s souls and life then it’s the Word we are to proclaim “in season and out of season”. This is the expectation we are to place on those who speak form our pulpits, and bring the gospel to out streets. But it is equally true with reference to our own individual lives. How true the words of Prov 27:6 “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” It is the enemy of our soul who makes us feel good as we drift away form God. Our prayer ought to be that God would ever bless us with those who will speak the truth – I love yes – but speak the truth! That is the only way to truly ‘feel good’, for this is the way to find and remain at peace with God, under His blessing.
