one of the top 10 misunderstood Bible quotations

Note: thanks to everyone who replied to my question last week. Your feedback actually helps me a lot! 

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Okay, so I'm kind of pulling the number ten out of thin air, but I think you get the idea. The verse I'm about to quote is often misunderstood, with some consequence. 

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good"

- Romans 8:28

I really, really wanted to talk about this verse on Sunday as it fell in the middle of the passage we looked at together at United Life. But one lesson I've been learning as a preacher is that when you've to choose between including something extra or not including it, 9 times out of 10 you better leave it out and try to get to it some other time. Something to do with diminishing returns and the fact that sermons are not more effective the more useful facts or thoughts they contain. 

So, and I say this sincerely, thank God for the Internet. 

Here's the problem with Romans 8:28: it fits in way too easily with a mistaken but very common view of Christianity and/or belief in God. The usual definition of superstition is that it is the irrational belief that something not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome. Black cats, broken mirrors, opening umbrellas indoors, etc. But I think a more useful definition of superstition is that it is the belief that one can negotiate with God through one's actions. You don't open the umbrella indoors because that would offend the supernatural, which would hurt your chances to negotiate a better future for yourself. 

And this verse, at least at face value, encourages this sort of thinking. What do we want God to do? Work together all things for our good. And how will we accomplish this? By loving him. That's at least what this verse looks like it's saying. 

But the truth is God doesn't work this way. God is not sitting in heaven with one finger on the "punish" button for every time we do wrong, and another finger on the "reward" button for every time we do right. In fact, God's attitude towards us has nothing to do with our actions. "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" (verses 31-32 of the same chapter). God has already acted on our behalf. He has already given up his Son for us all. This is in the history books. 

So if this is true, then believing that we can somehow negotiate a better future with him by loving him more doesn't follow. Yes, there is a benefit to living a life obedient to God. Such a life is equal to a life of sacrificial and unconditional love, and such a life is obviously better than one of selfishness and self-centereredness. But our obedience or disobedience does not change his mind: He has chosen to love us, and that is that. 

So what do we make of 8:28? I read it more like this: "And we know that for those who are starting to see things more and more through God's eyes because they are in personal relationships with him, everything starts to make more sense. Whether hardship or ease, poverty or wealth, acceptance or rejection, or even death or life, those in love with God get where this is all going: Redemption, Reconciliation, Salvation."