Barbara's Banter

Years ago I heard a story about a wealthy woman who advertised for a new driver. She asked the three applicants this question: “How close to a cliff could you drive?”

The first man said he could drive within an inch of the edge of the cliff. The second made the same claim. The third said, “I really couldn’t tell you because I try to keep as far away from danger as I can.”

How would you answer her question? Whom do you think she hired?

There is a lesson in this story for all of us. Let’s say the edge of the cliff is temptation. Do we risk getting as close to the edge as possible without thinking of the possibility of falling off? Or do we stay away from danger?

We all have weaknesses. If we know what our weaknesses are, perhaps we should avoid putting ourselves in situations where we would be tempted to succumb to them. For example:

• If we are tempted to overeat, we should probably stay away from Hometown Buffet.
• If we are alcoholics, we should probably stay away from bars.
• If we are drug addicts, we should probably stay away from drug addicts.
• If we are shopaholics, we should probably cut up our credit cards and stay away from Macy’s.
• If we have a gambling problem, we should stay away from Vegas.
• If we are depressed, we should stay away from negative people.

Speaking of negative people, remember that who we hang around with makes a difference. We want people in our lives supporting our decision to stay away from temptation, not adding to our problems. “Bad company corrupts good character.” (1 Corinthians 15:33 NLT)

Consider this… Temptations will always be around. After all, even Jesus was tempted by the devil. In fact Hebrew 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin.” So Jesus knows what we are going through.

Today’s culture is particularly ripe with enticements and each day we face a myriad of opportunities to do what in our hearts we know is wrong. However, how many of us when given a choice purposefully come as close to the edge of temptation as possible thinking we won’t fall off?

Remember that it is easier to avoid temptation than overcome it. In speaking of paths of the wicked the Bible says: “Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.” (Proverbs 4:15) I think the same would apply to temptation. In other words, stay as far away from danger as you can!

Suggestions for practicing this choice…

1. Stay close to God through prayer and Bible study.
2. Pray about specific weakness and/or temptations and then look up what the Bible says about it. For example, if you are prone to lose your temper then not only pray about it but do a Bible study on anger.
3. If you are tempted then flee temptation. (1 Corinthians 6:18) Think, “Run, Forest, Run!”
4. Remember that God won’t allow you to be tempted above what you are able to handle. (1 Corinthians 10:13) Of course, as one person said, “I just wish God didn’t have so much confidence in me.”
5. Be careful not to invite temptation by going places where you know you will have problems resisting. When you are invited to such places learn to say, “No thank you. I have other plans.” Such as your plan is not to go where you know you’ll be tempted. Like the old joke says: A man tells the doctor, “I broke my arm in two places.” The doctor says, “Well, you better stay out of those places!”

We are exhorted to encourage one another and build each other up. (1 Thessalonians 5:5) Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” That’s just a fancy way of saying we should encourage others. Edify means to build up or encourage. The Message Bible puts it this way: “Watch the way you talk…Say only what helps, each word a gift.” So encouragement is a gift we give others.

Encouragement is important because it goes straight to the heart of a person. In fact encourage in Latin “en” means “put into” and “cor” means “the heart.” Put into the heart!

We live in an ultra busy, rat race society. Giving encouragement to others falls way down at the bottom of our to-do list, if it makes the list at all. Yet, God himself is the great encourager (Psalm 10:17; Romans 15:5; 2 Thessalonians 2:16- 17) with the Bible being the most encouraging book ever written. God wishes for us to comfort, exhort, and encourage one another as well. (I Thessalonians 4:18; 5:11; Hebrews 3:13)

Encouragement should not be confused with false praise or idle flattery. Not everyone is the greatest, best, or most fantastic person in the whole wide world. False praise can stimulate rivalry or competition, be judgmental, foster selfishness, or give a deceptive sense of evaluation. Encouragement, on the other hand, stimulates cooperation or contribution for the good of all, focuses on effort, makes a person feel accepted, and gives comfort or joy.

Encouragement is not just a spiritual issue anymore. Businesses are instructing their leadership about the fine art of appreciating employees. Why? Because it can:

• Form or strengthen positive business and personal relationships
• Promote opportunities for further interpersonal collaboration
• Motivate someone to reach even greater accomplishments

Encouragement is a two way street, a win-win scenario as they say in the corporate world. It not only encourages the recipient but the giver as well. (Romans 1:11-12)

Consider this… An old adage says, “One word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than a 100 words of praise during a success.” I think that’s true.

We live in a pressure filled society, a dog eat dog world filled with unrealistic expectations. Satan uses this to tear us down, make us feel unimportant and unappreciated, or like we don’t belong. Sometimes we feel like Jesus doesn’t even care even though deep in our hearts we know differently. Encouragers are Christ’s representatives here on earth. Their mission is to “put into the heart” of people the thought that they are appreciated and someone cares.

Suggestions for practicing this choice…

1. Look for any opportunity to tell people they did a good job. Say it now; don’t wait.
2. Be less critical. Most of the time people are doing the best they can.
3. Write a note of appreciation. Spoken words are great but when people feel down they can take out a written note, read it again, and feel renewed.
4. Pray. The more we pray for others, the easier it will be to encourage them. Encouraging others may not come easily so we can also pray that God helps us develop the ability to be encouraging.
5. Let others know when they have encouraged us. That’s encouraging to them, as well as to us. (Romans 1:11-12)

Keeping your word is almost unheard of today. Sadly, we have come to expect and accept this. The tragedy of not keeping your word is that eventually no one will believe you even though you are telling the truth. The Bible exhorts us to “let our yes be yes and our no be no.” (Matthew 5:37) This is a fancy way to say, “Don’t shoot your mouth off and make promises you can’t keep.” It’s a real breath of fresh air today when you meet someone who actually keeps his word.

Thirty-five years we lived in Appalachia and wanted to purchase a little land so we could build a house. Farmer Brown had some acreage that caught our eye. When we met he told us he had a special affection for this particular parcel of land because he wanted to give it to his son to build on.

“Uh oh,” we thought. We were city people and used to dealing with cunning sales people. We could feel the price rising even as we spoke.

Then he quoted us some astronomically low amount. He liked us. We were a nice, young couple with two small children and he wanted to help us. We quickly agreed and said we would have a contract drawn up immediately. He found this insulting. He said if we needed a contract the deal was off. His handshake should be a good enough bond for us. We trusted him and shook on it. He was refreshing, honest, and true to his word.

That was many years ago and I’m not sure we would have that kind of confidence in a man’s word today – even in Appalachia. There has been too much media exposure on ways to lie, cheat, and steal and even more glorification of those who do. Politicians, CEOs, salesmen, and almost everyone you meet are adept at twisting words to get what they want. If a “man is as good as his word” there are not that many good men left.

The Bible speaks of a good name being better than precious ointment. (Ecclesiastes 7:1) A good name is our reputation which is built on keeping our word. The Bible also says that putting confidence in those that are not true to their word can be painful. (Proverbs 25:19) Yes it is! Many parents do this with their children all the time and think nothing of it. But every time a mother or father doesn’t follow through with what they’ve told their children they will do, children feel insecure. And broken promises to children are not just hurtful, they are devastating.

Most people don’t set out to lie. They usually agree to do something with good intentions. Then they decide something is not all that important or they lose track of time or they regret making a commitment so they just don’t follow through or they didn’t want to hurt someone’s feelings so they hastily said they would do it.

Consider this… God will forgive us for not keeping our word but others may not. God keeps his word to us and we should keep our word to others. After all, we are supposed to be reflections of God’s love.

How good are we at keeping our word? Can we be counted on to do what we say? Can a person rely on us to follow through with our end of the bargain if all we gave was a handshake to bind the deal? Can we keep that secret? If we say we will be there to help someone, will we show up? If we say we will pray for someone, do we pray for them? These may seem like little things, but those who are faithful in the little things are faithful in the bigger things. (Luke 16:10)

If a “man is as good as his word” there are not that many good men left. Yet that doesn’t mean we can’t be one of them. As Christians, others should be able to count on what we say.

Suggestions for practicing this choice…

1. Think before you agree to something.
2. Don’t say what you don’t mean.
3. Consider “little” promises important.
4. Don’t expect to count on others if others can’t count on you.
5. Ask God to help you keep your word. After all, what we do is a reflection of Him.

Balance is a part of our daily lives. We want to eat a balanced diet, send our kids to schools with a balanced curriculum, and balance our check books. Balance holds us steady and allows us to cope with life. It keeps us healthy and happy.

Without balance we tend to go to extremes leading to terrible results. If we eat, eat, eat too many carbs, we get fat. If we work, work, work without rest, we get sick. If we spend, spend, spend without thought, we go bankrupt.

Unfortunately, we all have a tendency to be unbalanced. We think if a little of something is good then a lot must be better. That is not always true. Prescription drugs, medicinal herbs, or even trace elements might be helpful in moderation but too much could lead to illness or even death.

Just as there should be balance in our physical lives, there should be balance in our Christian lives as well. Zealous Christians don’t always understand this and have difficulty seeing the bigger picture.

This was an area of growth for Peter. At first Peter did not want Christ to wash his feet, until Christ explained, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with me.” Then Peter said, “Wash not only my feet but my hands and head, too.” (John 13:6-11) Peter also told Christ he would never deny Him, but he did. (Matthew 26:35, 69-75) Christ knew Peter didn’t fully understand certain things. Peter tended to be a bit of an extremist…and so do we.

After Peter grew in grace and knowledge, his statements became more balanced.

Unbalanced Christians go to extremes and miss the mark. For example some devote their lives to diligent theological study and can debate doctrine with the most learned. However, they neglect to have an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus and can’t apply scriptures to their daily lives. Others do just the opposite. They think all they need to do is pray, but they don’t study the Bible so they are swayed by every new idea that comes along. (Ephesians 4:14) They don’t know what they stand for.

Consider this… Balance does not mean compromising beliefs or being unsure of your faith, nor does it mean shoving spiritual understanding down someone’s throat with clever arguments. Balanced Christians know how to combine Bible study with a Christ centered relationship so they can live life to the fullest. They know how to trust God. They know the Christian life isn’t an either/or scenario. They realize we need intellect and emotion, head and heart, form and freedom, grace and knowledge (2 Peter 3:18), etc.

Leading a balanced Christian life is important. Without balance, we fall – physically and spiritually.

Suggestions for practicing this choice…

1. Take a mental inventory of your life to determine where you are out of balance. There is some wisdom in what Socrates said: “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
2. Choose one area of your life to work on.
3. Decide how you can implement changes to become more balanced in that one area – a plan of action.
4. Talk to God about your plan and ask for his help.
5. Make Christ the center of your life. (Matthew 6:33)

Our society equates love with an emotional roller coaster ride or a feeling that we can’t live without a certain person. Some think love is all about sex. Although sex can be a part of true love those who equate love with sex are usually lusting not loving. There is a difference. Love is not always about two people falling helplessly and hopelessly into an uncontrollable rage of passion. Just ask anyone who’s been married for any significant length of time and they will tell you love goes way beyond physical attraction. Listen to this song by Clint Black, Love Is Something You Do. It’s not sex that truly binds people together or there wouldn’t be so many one night stands; it’s love.

Love is something we do. In fact, love is a bunch of stuff we choose to do because love is a choice.

Love is a big thing to God. He refers to it throughout the Bible. 1 Corinthians 13 goes into great detail explaining what real love is all about. Here we learn some things we do or don’t do if we really want to love someone: be patient, be kind, be truthful, be hopeful, don’t envy, don’t boast, don’t be rude, don’t be prideful, don’t be self-seeking, don’t get angry, and so on.

This kind of love can be between spouses (Ephesians 5:25) but these scriptures can also be used as a gauge to loving our neighbors (Mark 12:31), loving our families (Ephesians 5:25), loving one another (John 13:34,), and even loving our enemies (Matthew 5:43).

Unfortunately, it’s not easy to love enemies, our neighbors, our families or even our spouses because they are all people – and people are so unlovable. I’m not referring to criminals and those who perform unspeakable atrocities. I’m talking about those we may be close to and have contact with every day. They can irritate and frustrate us to distraction.

For example, some people are just angry at life and will take it out on us. Some focus on the 1% flaw instead of the 99% good. Some insist their way is the only way to do something. Some value their opinion above anyone else’s. Some can’t accept that we understand their position from every angle and still don’t agree. Some set up their standard of righteousness for everyone. Some gossip and say things that are untrue about us. Some think they know more than anyone else about a subject. Some poke their noses in our business and give us unwanted advice. Some are rude and thoughtless. Some take the credit while we do the work. Some condemn others for what things they are prone to do themselves. Some will make a joke at our expense. Some never apologize. Some never say, “Thank you!” Some pretend to be our friends, but talk behind our backs. Some make us feel unvalued, unappreciated, and unwanted. And these are just our friends! I don’t have room to describe our enemies.

Guess what? God tells us to love these people anyway – not because they deserve to be loved, but because they need to be loved. In fact, we all need to be loved and most of us are unlovable at times.

Consider this… Loving people doesn’t mean never getting irritated or frustrated with them. Loving people doesn’t mean always condoning what they do or agreeing with what they say. Loving people doesn’t mean we shield them from the consequences of their decisions. Loving people doesn’t mean we turn a blind eye to their faults. Rather, loving people means we deal with them in a kind, patient, respectful, honest, and humble way. (1 Corinthians 13) We can love the person but not necessarily their actions.

Actually, that’s how God loves us. He knows what we’ve done and loves us anyway. He separates the person from the action. He can hate the action but love the person. He never says what we’ve done is okay when it’s not. However, he never forces his will on us. He deals with us in a loving manner. And He knows what love is all about because HE IS LOVE! (1 John 4:8)

Suggestions for practicing this choice…

1. Strive to separate people from their actions.
2. Deal with people in a loving way.
3. Try to be kind to others.
4. Try to be patient with others.
5. Try not to get angry with others.

We miss the mark by thinking God’s love for us depends on how we are or what we do. Many think they must change before God with love them. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Believe it or not, God loves the “real” us! Now we might want to make some changes in our lives, but not to earn God’s love.

We live in a society that constantly tells us we are not lovable. Media bombards us with subliminal messages that we aren’t thin enough, pretty enough, smart enough, talented enough, good enough and so on. We evaluate ourselves by some very lofty, unattainable standards. Let’s face it – even the most beautiful movie star is air brushed and sometimes enhanced when they appear on a magazine cover.

These false criteria can lead us to have poor opinions of ourselves. What we think about ourselves can influence how we live our lives. This is sad, because what we think about ourselves, what others think about us and what we think others think about us can all be inaccurate gauges of reality. There will always be someone better looking, more popular and thinner than us and guess what? That’s okay. God created you to be you and me to be me.

I think there is some wisdom in what Oscar Wilde said. “Be yourself – everyone else is already taken.”

Our self worth should come from what God thinks of us – and God loves us. God doesn’t love us because we are pretty, smart, wise, talented or good. He loves us the “real” us. We don’t have to earn God’s love or our salvation. Salvation is a gift from God. (Ephesians 2:8) If it were based on our actions, we would try to take the credit. We would think our good deeds earned us salvation.

How wise God is! He knew we could never be good enough to deserve his love, so he just gives it to us. Martin Luther once wrote, “The most damnable and pernicious heresy that has ever plagued the mind of man is the idea that somehow he could make himself good enough to deserve to live with an all-holy God.”

In New Testament times people kept thinking they needed to do something to earn God’s free grace. Such was the case with circumcision. Paul wanted to set the record straight. Becoming circumcised would not earn God’s love. That way of thinking devalues God’s gift. (Galatians 5)

Consider this…God loves us so much he sent his son to die for us that we might be saved. We did not earn this love. It was freely given. (John 3:16; Romans 5:8)

People spend a lot of time perfecting an image, so they will be “loveable.” I guess it’s hard to believe that someone could love the “real” us, but God does. And he longs to have a relationship with the “real” us. I know it’s hard to believe but God knows our weaknesses and frailties, and loves us anyway. We don’t have to pretend to be something we are not.

So let’s get “real” with God and let him lavish his real love on us.

Suggestions for practicing this choice…

1. Don’t try to be something you are not – be yourself. Everyone else is taken.
2. Don’t use the fact that God loves you regardless as an excuse to be a jerk.
3. Remember this…God loves you unconditionally, but he also loves the other guy, too.
4. Since God loves that other guy why not try to love him, too, and cut him a little slack now and then.
5. Every once in a while say, “Thank you God for your love!”

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus is a catchy little children’s song with a life changing message.  Following Jesus is a great idea and a choice we can all make! We must simply ask Jesus to live in our lives, accept Him as our Lord and Savior, believe His Word, and become a disciple. A disciple of Jesus is one who follows His teachings and example.

Many do not want to follow Jesus because they think it would “cramp their style.” They make assumptions about what Christ would do. Sure, they believe that loving God and loving their fellow man are great principles to live by, but they don’t want to be self-righteous, judgmental hypocrites like so many Christians they have known. In other words, if that’s what followers of Christ look like, they would just as soon follow someone else.

However, perhaps these Christians are following a preconceived idea of what they think Christ was like. Have they really taken the time to truly get to know Him? I submit that we could all use a refresher course on getting to know Christ a little better. A good place to start would be to read or reread the first four books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), which record what Jesus taught and did while He was here on earth.

A little research will show that Jesus wasn’t a pseudo sanctimonious recluse preaching platitudes. He enjoyed life. In fact, he came eating, drinking, and joining in the midst of life at that time. (Luke 7:34) He associated with everyone including tax collectors, prostitutes, scribes, and sinners, so they called him a glutton and a drunkard. (Matthew 9:10, 11; Luke 5:27-30). But Christ was not a glutton or drunkard, because those would be sins and He never sinned. (1 Peter 2:22) He just had the ability to have a good time and relate to people of all walks of life without sinning!

If Jesus walked the earth today, would He drink a beer? Maybe… After all, His first miracle was turning water into wine. Did He do that but not have a drink himself? I doubt it – but drinking an alcoholic beverage and getting drunk are two different things. (John 2:1-10, Matthew 11:19)

Would Jesus hang around with sinners? Maybe… He did in Biblical times. In fact he was called a friend to sinners. (Matthew 11:19)

Would Jesus get angry? Maybe… Anger in itself is not wrong but wrong use of that anger is. The Bible says, “Be angry and sin not.” (Ephesians 4:26) Jesus turned over the tables of the moneychangers outside the temple, which indicates he was a tad bit upset. (Matthew 21:12, Mark 11:15)

Would Jesus get frustrated? Maybe… He seemed a little irritated with three of the disciples when he took them on the mountain so he could pray and they kept falling asleep. (Matthew 26:40)

Would Jesus confuse the issue? Maybe… He certainly did when He said those who don’t eat my flesh and drink my blood have no part of me. That was very controversial for the time. Many left his side that day because they thought he was speaking literally. (John 6:53-66)

Would Jesus have modern ideas? Maybe… He was certainly progressive for His time. He treated all people, even Samaritans and women with dignity and respect. That was unheard of in those days. (John 4:7-9)

Let’s not put Jesus in a box and presumptuously tell others what He would or would not do in a given situation if we haven’t done our homework. Our Lord and Savior emptied Himself of His divinity, came to earth, lived among us, died for us, and rose again. He did not come to condemn the world. He came so the world could have salvation. (John 3:17)

Christ came preaching the good news for everyday people. The only ones who had a problem with Him were the spiritual leaders of the time (Sadducees, Pharisees, etc…) who had preconceived ideas of what a Savior should look like and what a Savior would do. When we decide to follow Jesus, let’s not make the same mistakes.

Suggestions for practicing this choice…

1. Don’t rely on preconceived ideas about what Jesus would do in any given situation. Find out by reading one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John), preferably in the Message translation.
2. Decide to follow Jesus.
3. Refrain from judging Christians who talk the talk but have difficulty walking the walk. We all have a little trouble in that area from time to time.
4. Try not to be self righteous. That’s easier for some of us than it is for others.
5. Every now and then sing I Have Decided to Follow Jesus. Here’s a link to help you. We don’t even have to know how to carry a tune. We can learn a lot from children’s songs. They are short, to the point, and usually have a great message.

Many skeptics assume they know all about Jesus Christ based on what they have heard or assumptions they’ve made. They might consider God a myth, superstition, or just wishful thinking – and if Jesus did walk this earth he was probably just a kind man or perhaps a gifted teacher who could tell great stories. The more spiritual might even think Jesus was a prophet, but not the Son of God. However, even if we can’t accept the Bible as inspired it is hard to deny the existence of Jesus Christ. There are many eyewitnesses.

Four such eyewitnesses are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They endeavored to give accurate accounts of their time with Jesus. Luke said his goal was to write “an orderly account” of what happened. (Luke 1:1-4) John said, “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is Christ.” (John 20:31) Of course they were somewhat biased because they loved Jesus, but they did not hesitate to record the truth. After all, they even put the disciples in an unflattering light. Peter denied Christ. Thomas doubted. James and John had a bit of a temper. If truth were not the goal, why put anyone, especially good friends, in a bad light?

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the first four books of the New Testament, called the Gospels. They are four records of the same events told from four different perspectives. Of course, all four Gospels are not word for word the same. If they were, it would decrease their credibility because it would look like the four men collaborated. No, these are independent accounts and any divergent statements in comparing them merely come from details that could easily be seen in different ways.

There are non Biblical accounts of Jesus as well from Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia plus Josephus and Tacticus who were historians of that time. So even without the Bible we know that Jesus lived, taught, performed miracles, was crucified, and died. We know many believed him to be the Messiah. Many believed he rose from the dead. There was an empty tomb where he had been buried. Many believed him to be God. These are historical facts.

And consider this… There must be something to this man called Jesus or why would we have a dating system based on his birth? BC means “before Christ” and AD stands for anno domino which means “the year of our Lord.” Christ is the center of all history. Some non religious types eventually began to use BCE (before Common or Current Era) for BC and CE (Common or Current Era) for AD. However, the dividing point for BCE and CE is still the life of Jesus Christ. Christ is still the center of all history.

Historian H.G. Wells said, “I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.”

Historian Kenneth Scott Latourette said, “As the centuries pass, the evidence is accumulating that, measured by His effect on history, Jesus is the most influential life ever lived on this planet.”

Now in my limited view a man such as this would be worth getting to know a little better. And if Jesus is indeed the Son of God his teachings become more than just wisdom from a moral advocate. They become something to believe in and live by.

C.S. Lewis had this to say about Jesus…

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him, “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the kind of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else He would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was and is the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that option open to us. He did not intend to.

Choose to find out more about Jesus Christ. He is worth getting to know – from a historical and spiritual perspective!

Suggestions for practicing this choice…

1. Learn more about Jesus by reading one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) in a readable translation such as the Message.
2. Read The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel.
3. Read the little book What Christians Believe by C.S. Lewis.
4. If you don’t have time to read consider getting some of these resources on CD and listen to them in your car when you commute or when you walk or when you work out.
5. Even if you have accepted Christ as your Savior, don’t assume you know all about Him. Ask God to help you know Him better.

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…

1. Abstain from judging others based on their preferences.
2. Repeat this often: “God is God and I am not.”
3. 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?
4. Don’t misinterpret scriptures or take them out of context to back up personal views.
5. 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.”

Many choose to view God as an all powerful judge who is eager to plague us with disease, disaster, and disgrace when we tick him off. A list of do’s and don’ts become our gauge to measure our success in pleasing him. We think if we don’t live up to God’s expectations He will zap our lives with a lightning bolt to shock us into obedience. Others choose to view God as caring and kind.

How we view God can influence our actions and motives, even subconsciously. Theologian A.W. Tozer expressed it this way in The Knowledge of the Holy: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” It affects every choice we make. Tozer compared having a right concept of God to a foundation of a building. “Where it is inadequate or out of plumb, the whole structure must sooner or later collapse.”

Some have laid a wrong foundation for building a relationship with God by becoming Christians just to escape eternal punishment. If we turn to God because we are afraid He will burn us in a lake of fire if we don’t, it is like marrying someone just so they won’t kill us. It’s not the kind of foundation a loving relationship can build upon. One lives in constant fear that if God is not pleased, He will open the trap door to hell.

On the other hand, if we embrace God because He sent His only son to live among us (John 1:14), serve us (Mark 10:42-45), and freely die for us (John 3:16, John 10:18), our foundation becomes one of love not fear. In fact God did all these things for us because He does love us – unconditionally. He might hate what we do sometimes, but that never deters His love for us.

Consider this…God doesn’t need to zap us into obedience, because sin carries its own penalty. When we misbehave we set off an automatic “cause and effect” sensor. In other words, we will reap what we sow and what goes around will eventually come around to bite us in the back side.
Although it’s more convenient to just blame God for our troubles, God is not the enemy. God is love. (1 John 4:8) Just because He doesn’t give us what we want, doesn’t mean He doesn’t love us. Just because He doesn’t miraculously intervene every time we ask Him to, doesn’t mean He doesn’t love us.

How we choose to view God determines our relationship with him. Viewing God as love helps us enter into this relationship feeling loved, accepted, and wanted. God is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all working together in harmony. God invites us to participate in this loving relationship and know Him intimately. Trust and confidence are built by daily walking and talking with Him. He desires to be a helper of our joy, not a policeman of our faith. (2 Corinthians 1:24) As we come to know God more intimately we realize He has only our best interest in mind. He is for us, not against us. God is love!

Suggestions for practicing this choice…

1. Repeat this phrase when needed; “Everyone else may think I’m a jerk, but God loves me.”
2. Resist the temptation to think God is out to get us. Say this instead, “God is for me, not against me.”
3. Start building a relationship with God by daily talking to Him and reading His Word – the Bible.
4. If this seems overwhelming start small but be consistent. Even 5 minutes a day is better than nothing.
5. As we do this, ask God to help us see Him as a God of love.