Putting God on Trial
I bowl in a league. For as much as I bowl, I feel my average should be higher than 122. Now that's not what irritates me. The pop machine irritates me at the bowling alley. Every once in a while I will make the mistake of trying to get a pop from the machine instead of the bar. (I get stupid that way sometimes). I put my dollar in and push the button for Pepsi, and out comes a Diet Pepsi. I would ever so gently kick the machine in Jesus name and proclaim that I wanted a Pepsi. Then I pass that over to my wife who enjoys drinking that nasty stuff and I wise up and get my pop from the bar.
We treat God like this. We pray for certain blessings. We even give back to Him with strings attached. We go to church, give money, heck, we might even buy a Christian book or CD in hopes that we are becoming spiritual enough that God would grant us the blessing we desire. When it doesnt turn out the way we want it to, we get angry with God. The question is not "Who gets angry with God?" The question is who hasn't gotten angry with God at one time or another?
Our anger towards God comes from suffering. Our marriage falls apart; the kids dont grow up to be the people we raised them to be; a close relationship goes south and you just dont know why, a business venture goes south; you lose your job and now you are competing with hundreds of others for a job that doesnt pay as well or carry the benefits of the previous job; mounting bills; the loss of a loved one; failing health; loneliness; the inability to have a meaningful relationship with the opposite sex; am I hitting home yet?
Out of my own personal experience, when I suffer, there has to be a villian. I try to be humble and point the finger at myself and take responsibility for things that cause suffering in my life. But in the end, I can always conclude that someone else has to be the blame for what I am going through. There is no way to justify this. Unfortunately, it makes me feel better.
Here is where it gets worse. When all is said and done, God has become the villain. We take on the role of judge and put God on trial and declare Him guilty of not being good. "I tried God, and yet my Grandpa still died!" "I tried God, but I feel safer going this route." "God is nice, but c'mon! You dont expect me to forgive and embrace that person do you? That's just stupid." "I tried God, and found myself deeper in debt."
When we go through suffering, we experience an anger and pain that we can not put into words. We fall into this trap that if we become Christians, our problems will go away, and then we will be happy singing kum ba ya around the campfire with fellow Kool-Aid drinkers.
Guess what? When you follow Christ, He doesnt change the world you live in. You still have to live with consequences. There is still the strong chance that your spouse is not coming back to you, your kids will upset you every once in a while, loved ones will still die, your boss will still be a jerk, and you will get cut off in traffic. But God changes you.
In the end, we have a choice of how we react to suffering. There doesnt have to be a villian. We arent to sit around and ask the question why. We ask the question "Who?"
Who gets angry with us when we suffer? God does. Exodus 34:7 says, "The LORD said, 'I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.'"
Who crys with us when we are sad? Jesus does. John 11:35 says that Jesus wept when Lazurus died.
Who understands suffering in this world better than anyone? Jesus does. In Matthew 27:46 even Jesus screams out "My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me?" It's ok to ask this if your motivation is to get answers from God.
Take some time this week to look at your suffering and find out where you declared God not to be good. Take some time to look at the big picture of life, and you will find that while you was proclaiming Him not to be good, you will see how He has carried you and strengthened you through the toughest of times
We treat God like this. We pray for certain blessings. We even give back to Him with strings attached. We go to church, give money, heck, we might even buy a Christian book or CD in hopes that we are becoming spiritual enough that God would grant us the blessing we desire. When it doesnt turn out the way we want it to, we get angry with God. The question is not "Who gets angry with God?" The question is who hasn't gotten angry with God at one time or another?
Our anger towards God comes from suffering. Our marriage falls apart; the kids dont grow up to be the people we raised them to be; a close relationship goes south and you just dont know why, a business venture goes south; you lose your job and now you are competing with hundreds of others for a job that doesnt pay as well or carry the benefits of the previous job; mounting bills; the loss of a loved one; failing health; loneliness; the inability to have a meaningful relationship with the opposite sex; am I hitting home yet?
Out of my own personal experience, when I suffer, there has to be a villian. I try to be humble and point the finger at myself and take responsibility for things that cause suffering in my life. But in the end, I can always conclude that someone else has to be the blame for what I am going through. There is no way to justify this. Unfortunately, it makes me feel better.
Here is where it gets worse. When all is said and done, God has become the villain. We take on the role of judge and put God on trial and declare Him guilty of not being good. "I tried God, and yet my Grandpa still died!" "I tried God, but I feel safer going this route." "God is nice, but c'mon! You dont expect me to forgive and embrace that person do you? That's just stupid." "I tried God, and found myself deeper in debt."
When we go through suffering, we experience an anger and pain that we can not put into words. We fall into this trap that if we become Christians, our problems will go away, and then we will be happy singing kum ba ya around the campfire with fellow Kool-Aid drinkers.
Guess what? When you follow Christ, He doesnt change the world you live in. You still have to live with consequences. There is still the strong chance that your spouse is not coming back to you, your kids will upset you every once in a while, loved ones will still die, your boss will still be a jerk, and you will get cut off in traffic. But God changes you.
In the end, we have a choice of how we react to suffering. There doesnt have to be a villian. We arent to sit around and ask the question why. We ask the question "Who?"
Who gets angry with us when we suffer? God does. Exodus 34:7 says, "The LORD said, 'I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.'"
Who crys with us when we are sad? Jesus does. John 11:35 says that Jesus wept when Lazurus died.
Who understands suffering in this world better than anyone? Jesus does. In Matthew 27:46 even Jesus screams out "My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me?" It's ok to ask this if your motivation is to get answers from God.
Take some time this week to look at your suffering and find out where you declared God not to be good. Take some time to look at the big picture of life, and you will find that while you was proclaiming Him not to be good, you will see how He has carried you and strengthened you through the toughest of times
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