God Makes Me Sick

There are approximately 9,000 things I'd love to be addressing right now, but I ascribe to "Lord fill my mouth with useful stuff and shut it when I've said enough", and much of what I'd like to say is more venting than useful. So I'm only going to talk about the one that's been on my heart and mind for a while.

I can't count the number of times I've seen a faith leader say something along the lines of "I won't get the coronavirus because I believe in God, and God will protect me." Other Christians saying the people getting it or dying from it should have been praying harder and trusting God. While there were more of these proclamations back in March, I'm still seeing them. So let's unpack this piece by piece.

First, I 100% applaud a devoted faith to God. He can do all things - including keep us healthy. He can work wonderful miracles that defy all explanation.

You know what He doesn't do, though? Promise that we won't get sick if we follow Him. Promise that we won't suffer, won't be hurt. Promise that we won't go through incredible loss during our time on this earth. The idea that if you're a good Christian you won't suffer is some serious prosperity gospel donkey doo-doo that is completely antithetical to the Bible and to Jesus' teachings.

It's an easy mark, but let's take a look at the book of Job. Job was a faithful follower. He was "blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil"(1:1). He gave offerings daily just in case one of his children had sinned and needed to repent. Arguably the biggest mistake he made was choosing judgy, crummy friends. So God rewarded him by not ever letting him get sick or hurt, right? Right?

"Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head" (2:7)

Job, one of the most faithful followers of God, sat in the dust for days, fielding accusations from his "friends" about his character, scraping boils with a potsherd, while mourning the loss of all of his family and possessions. 

And then God says "You were crummy, so I did this to you. You should have prayed harder, dude." Right?

God questions Job (starting in 38:1) as to where he was when the world was made. Whether he can speak with thunder. Whether, essentially, Job has the necessary requirements to speak with authority about what God does and why.

Those who say definitively what won't happen are, whether intentionally or not, claiming to know God's mind. Saying what He will or won't do. It's a prideful arrogance, and I don't think I even need to give sample passages to show how God responds to such a mindset - the whole Bible is full of examples.

My final passionate thought is this - God allowed His only son to suffer. To die. To be ridiculed and abandoned. He works toward far greater goals than we can begin to imagine, and we do not get to tell him how best to reach those. We know His character, but not His mind.

I pray that you all remain safe and healthy - and cling to the Word that shows us the way.

Believers on the Devil's Payroll

 Jesus replied, "The most important commandment is this: 'Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your god with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.' The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Mark 12:29-31

I sat on this post for over a month. I've felt the prompting of the Spirit daily to write it, and daily I've hesitated. This is not a feel-good post. This is a loving conviction of literally millions of believers. As a relative newcomer to the faith, I always feel like it comes across as naive and condescending. What right do I have to chide those who have been saved for decades? But then I remember it's not up to me.

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Phillipians 2:12-13

I love you, my brothers and sisters. And it's because I love you that I don't want to see you take a step (or a leap) off of the path. And in a choice between possibly upsetting some of you or disobeying the God whose grace saved and sustained me, the Christ whose wounds were for my sins as much as anyone else's, well, that's not a competition.

My heart hurts. My soul is bruised, and my spirit is flagging. I've taken more than one hiatus from social media to salvage what little sanity I had left. Don't get me wrong - there are times you have to take a strong stand about something and being "nice" is not an option anymore. Even Jesus flipped tables. Anger can be righteous. But what I'm seeing isn't conviction. Isn't the pursuit of the ideals of the Lord. It's pure hatred. Venom. Vitriol. Grown adults throwing tantrums. Name-calling. Advocating for the deaths of those who dare to disagree with them. And the part that truly has brought me to tears on more than one occasion is that I see professed believers doing all of the above.

Now, I don't know the state of anyone's heart. But I must have missed the part of Jesus' teachings where he says that some faction or another of his children's lives don't matter. Where he says that backbiting, sniping, seething hatred for your fellow man is preferred. It may be in one of the lost books where he says those of us who are saved are so much better and have the high ground over those who don't. Perhaps I'm simply not reading the right version. If anyone can point me to the passage about neglecting the poor and weak and refusing to acknowledge the humanity of those around you, I'd greatly appreciate it. Maybe then I could understand.

Some of you may be feeling defensive right about now. That's ok. As humans, we tend to make our political beliefs, opinions, etc. such a crucial lynch-pin of our identity that we ourselves feel threatened when all that's threatened is an idea we hold. Recently I posted a quote regarding people not listening to each other being like conversations among the deaf. A friend who is hard of hearing let me know that it's a phrase that's hurtful to the community because people who are deaf can communicate perfectly well. The intent obviously wasn't to harm, but it's not exactly positive. My first reaction was to get defensive. I'm not ableist. I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. I have no problem with deaf people! So I took a step back and asked why I felt the need to launch into lawyer mode. I felt attacked because an idea was attacked. But I am not my ideas. You are not your ideas. And no idea we hold is more important than our identity as God's children.

So what happens when we succumb to our baser, fleshly desire to unleash hatred and rage at others rather than attempt communication? Satan smiles. When we advocate for the deaths of others? Satan rubs his hands in glee. When we refuse to care for those who need it? Satan dances.

The enemy doesn't even have to lift a finger right now. He's taking a vacation because we are doing all of his work for him. We are believers on the devil's payroll. And if we're serving his ends, we are neglecting what God wants us to do. We are telling God "I know you said to do X, but Y makes me feel better, so I'm doing it instead. I know better than you. You don't understand - they are SO WRONG. I had to do it!"

I don't know what the solution is for all of this, other than prayer and immersing ourselves in the Word, lest we forget what it actually says and start going off-script(ure). I'm not pointing any fingers. It's not an isolated issue. It's also not an unfixable one. My broken heart and I implore you to please, please, follow Jesus' teachings and love your fellow human beings. He loves you so much, and he loves them so much. He made them. He made them. Whatever your feelings, he put all of us here. And it's up to us whether we help each other, or make each other miserable. Whether the angels sing or the devil laughs at our actions.