Does it make me a bad person, or even a bad Christian, if I believe that God doesn't care about every thing in our life? And... gasp... even worse... I don't believe that everything happens for a reason? Honestly, I don't even believe that God has His hand in everything in the world?? Let me take these one by one.
1. I do not believe that God cares about every thing in our life. I mean, really, does God really care about my decision to wear brown (vs. black) flip flops today? Does he care whether I give Mathias carrots or sweet potatoes for lunch? I believe God has WAAAAAY more important things to deal with than to care about the trivial, non-important things in our day. Now, this is not to say that He won't listen to you talk to Him about your flip flops, but, I don't think that while you are choosing them, he really really wants you to choose the brown ones. God cares about us, and He cares about what we care about. But, some things are just placed on the earth (by God) for our enjoyment. He gave us different personalities and different tastes, and he wants us to enjoy and express them- but that doesn't mean that it is of utmost importance to him. It isn't a spiritual matter, it isn't an eternal matter. Really... it isn't even a "matter" at all. It's just a choice, and we make a thousand of them every day that have no baring at all on our spiritual lives.
2. I do not believe that everything happens for a reason. Some things just happen. We set a course by our decisions, and things happen, and God doesn't limit our free-will, therefore, he won't limit the consequences. I'm not saying that He can't, or doesn't in some circumstances.... I'm just saying that He doesn't on EVERYTHING. It's part of living in a sinful and fallen world. People do things, and horrible things (or even good things) happen. Now, Scripture says that, "Every good and perfect gift is from above." I believe that this is true... but that doesn't mean that God specifically made that good thing happen. All good things come from the author of good... the creator of good... they come from "Good" Himself. So, of course we can credit God with all good- because He is the only true good in the world. But, on the other hand, I do not believe that Satan can be credited with every horrible thing that happens. I think that he would love to take credit for all of it- it is of course his mission to make everything horrible and to kill and maim all that is good in the world- but, some things just happen. We make stupid choices, and within that free will, horrible things happen... we are fragile humans, our life can be gone in the blink of an eye. For example, I do not think that a child dying happens for a reason. Now, are there positive outcomes and lessons learned from that horrible event- of course, and that is God showing his supremacy above all events in heaven and on earth. He can use any and all events to bring people closer to Him and to show His power and His love. But, I don't think God needs to use a child's death to show himself. He already showed himself through the death of His Son, He doesn't need anyone else to die to make Himself known. In fact, He doesn't "need" any human event to make His will done or known- He can (just by snapping His fingers (I imagine)) do whatever he wants, make himself known and show everyone that He is God.
3. I do not believe that God has His hand controlling/meddling in everything in the world. Now, hear me on this one- I'm not limiting God- He can do whatever He wants, however He wants, whenever He wants. If He wanted to be in everything all at once, He could. I believe that He isn't. Think of the people who do not believe in God, and they decide to go and smash a plane into a tall building and kill thousands of people. What about people who go on crazy shooting sprees? Do I think that God was controlling that act? No, I think that God let these people make their own bad decision, and then reap the consequences. Now, is God's hand clearly shown in the aftermath- ABSOLUTELY! But, I do not think that God was controlling that incident. He let it happen, but was there to give peace to the believers, and to protect some. Am I making sense? Or am I just rambling? What kind of God would He be if he controlled everything in the world? What good would our relationship with Him be? How would it be authentic? He would have no reason to have a relationship with us if He was going to control everything in the world all the time. We wouldn't even have a choice of whether to follow Him or not. He didn't create us to be minions, He created us because He wanted to have a relationship with us, and because He loved us. Think about it: If you chose everything for your child, even choosing that they will love you, how would that be genuine? God doesn't control everything in the world. Not that He can't, but He doesn't. He created free-will, and we have to deal with it.
3 comments:
I completely agree! if you don't believe those things about God, you can twist ANYTHING to mean what you think it means. example: prayer requests. you don't get what you want? oh, God just doesn't want that in your life right now. you do get what you want? oh, thank you God for blessing me. I struggle with this because of my difficulty getting pregnant. people try and say God is withholding a child from me because I'm not trusting him enough, or being patient enough, or it's not his timing. BULL CRAP. the sad reality is, for some unknown reason, I have not conceived a child after 2 years of trying. it's just plain old science. not God punishing me or withholding blessings.
Yeah... It sort of bothers me as well when people use the phrase "in the center of God's will." I'd go as far as to say that God doesn't have some specific plan for EVERYONE'S life-- He hasn't orchestrated every event of the world to lead up to the pre-written end of the story. I mean, he obviously knows the patterns of human nature and he can foresee in general where the world is headed and when His return will happen, but I think it's pretty evident from bible persons' experiences that, because of free will, things take sharp turns and detours. :The israelites wandering in the desert, God changing his mind after Moses pleads with him, Bathsheba being in the lineage of Jesus after adultery and murder...
I think God KNOWS us, inside and out, and he knows that would make us the most content and productive people, but I don't think he has a specific will for MOST things in our lives: which college we should attend, who we should marry, our careers, etc. I think he really does have a father-child relationship with us-- he KNOWS us, and he has hopes for us, and he knows what would make us happy, but he is pleased when we make our own decisions, too. It doesn't mean we are going outside of his will!
:-)
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