Theologian A. W. Tozer said: “Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and to bring Him nearer to our own image.”
Academically we want to be made into God’s image (Genesis 1:26); emotionally we want to make God over into our image, so we tend to give Him a spiritual “face lift” – a nip here and a tuck there, so He can be a reflection of us instead of us reflecting Him.
Subconsciously, we think God tends to reflect our own personalities which can influence the choices we make. Introverts might think God is distant and not all that interested in our day to day lives so they withdraw from interaction with others. Extroverts might think God is the life of the party so they live it up. Happy people might think God wants to give everyone a big hug so they smile, smile, smile. Angry people might think God wants to annihilate everyone so they stay grumpy. Activists might think God is interested in social change so they run for office. Pacifists might think God will just let everything take its course so they remain uninvolved.
To carry it a step further, many of us think God likes what we like and hates what we hate. If we are vegetarians, God visits the salad bar. If we sing country music, God wears a Stetson and strums a guitar. If we are rich, God lives in a mansion. If we are poor, God lives in “The Shack.”
We even think God judges a matter the way we would judge. We think His views are our views. Of course this makes life so much easier because the phrase “what would Jesus do” quickly morphs into “what would I do.” Actually, there’s nothing wrong with having preferences or opinions as long as we don’t think they are the standard for righteousness. For example, humans place more importance on some sins rather than others. That doesn’t mean God feels the same way.
Consider this…what we feel is not as important as what God feels. What we think is not as important as what God thinks. Our thoughts are not God’s thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8) Our views are not necessarily God’s views and almost assuredly our preferences are not the same as His. This may come as a shock but God does not like what we like, just because we like it. God does not hate what we hate, just because we hate it. God does not react how we react, just so we can justify what we do. If He did, we would not need to seek the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5) and be transformed (Romans 12:2). Therefore, we should strive to align our thinking with God’s not His to ours.
God is God and we are not. Choose to take God as He is! After all, that’s how he takes us.
Suggestions for practicing this choice…
- Abstain from judging others based on their preferences.
- Repeat this often: “God is God and I am not.”
- Avoid presumptions about knowing what God thinks about certain issues unless it can be backed up biblically. Exactly where is that passage used to reinforce that information? Can it be cross referenced with other scriptures to support that view?
- Don’t misinterpret scriptures or take them out of context to back up personal views.
- Seek the mind of Christ through prayer and Bible study. A brief daily prayer might be, “Lord, help me to align my thoughts to yours.”
