Bad Thoughts - Theology That Leads Us Astray

I hate the phrase, "Well, if it is God's will, it will happen." A phrase like that would mean that the growth of Islam was God's will. Mormonism, God's will. Constant war, God's will. The shootings in Connecticut, God's will. The list could go on and on. How asinine. Saying that what has happened and what is happening is God's will ignores the Bible, ignores our reality, and is really a device that will cause us to ignore God.

Two weeks ago, Tim Tebow, who was signed by the New York Jets in the offseason, was leapfrogged for the starting quarterback job. He had been waiting behind Mark Sanchez all year to get a start. The coach decided to not start Sanchez, but he also decided to start the third-stringer instead of Tebow. So Tebow is still the backup. Unfortunately for him, he became the backup to the guy who was his backup.

Tebow said, "I don't have regrets. I believe everything happens for a reason, and it's a learning opportunity for me and there's a lot I've learned, good and bad."

"Everything happens for a reason." That sounds all good and spiritual. It's nice that he has a good attitude, but the bad theology drives me nuts. True, everything happens for a reason, but when that is uttered in spiritual circles it usually implies that everything happens as a result of God. He's the "reason" they are implying. Lots of things happen due to reasons that are terrible. A kid gets killed in a drunk driving accident, not because God wanted that, but because we live in a fallen world and a person decided to be stupid, drink too much, and decide to drive. Kids get shot in a school, not because God wanted that, but, again, because we live in a fallen world and something went terribly wrong in a young man's head. God is not a puppet master, and we are not His puppets. God will use everything for His glory, but that does not mean that everything happens as a result of a God reason. Every day, things happen that are not what God wants to happen. Outside of His will. Outside of His plan.

I want to propose another phrase today. It's not as catchy as "everything happens for a reason" or "if it's God's will, it will happen," but it contains more truth than those two statements. "If God wills it, then we need to join in and make it happen. Or it won't." He is the solution. He has a plan for humanity and each one of our lives. But we, the church and His people, are the delivery method of that solution and are given the privilege to bring his plan into our reality.

We are free will beings. Just like the coach of the Jets could have chosen to start Tebow. Just like a drunk driver could have chosen to call a taxi. Just like the shooter could have chosen to not be a monster. They weren't being micromanaged by God. He's not in the micromanagement business. Well, at least not all of the time. He's in the prompting business.

We need to be careful to never let those words - that "everything happens for a reason" or " if it's God's will, it will happen" - ever exit our mouths or control the way we live. Try not to even think them. Those thoughts disempower. They belittle our importance as free will beings. They cripple our prayer lives. They stifle evangelism.

God doesn't need us to be puppets for Him to be great. He's already great. He's amazing in the way that He is patient and waits for faithful followers to bring about His will. And we don't need to be forced to be faithful. We need grace to be right with God; our own works cannot do that. But that grace is available to everyone. Each one of us needs to acknowledge that God knows the solution, the best plan for our lives, and He is waiting for us to be faithful. We have the choice to respond to His plan for our lives by surrendering to His will, loving Him, and loving others. God will use everything to bring about His will. But He is patient. If God wills it, then we need to join in and make it happen. Or it won't.

God knows our passions and our desires. He didn't create us to be a puppets, but to listen to Him and be a doer of His will. I once talked with a friend who is a talented artist and involved in church. I asked him, "So have you ever used your art skills for your church?" And he had never thought about it. That broke my heart. Somewhere we strayed off course and designed a church that didn't have room for each individual's creativity, passions, and dreams. Molded into bringing glory to God, of course. Every gift, every blessing, every talent is an opportunity to be used by God. Don't let the thought that you are a puppet prevent you from dreaming and doing what is on your heart from God. You aren't a puppet. You are a loved creation that has been blessed with passions and abilities.

If God wills it, then we need to join in and make it happen. Or it won't. And I don't want to live in a family, a community, a church, or a world where His will isn't happening. It starts with us. In the morning, when we rise, do we decide that we are going to live this day to bring about God's plan or are we going to spend investing in a plan that will eventually turn to dust, our plan. The choice is ours.

Thoughts On God

Many people like firm policies and procedures. Many areas in life actually need them. This often translates into people imagining that God has firm policies and procedures, which leads to people developing destructive thoughts about God.

First, let’s get this out there. God’s goals never change. Who He is at the core of His being never changes. His attributes never change. But life here on earth is in a constant state of change, so the way He works and relates to us outside of Scripture is always in a state of flux. He does not operate with a policy and procedure manual; He operates through relationships with you, me, and everyone else in creation.

I have read stories of God healing an individual by having the sign of the cross done over them. Others have received healing through the laying on of hands. Still others just feel the presence of God during their quiet prayer time and receive healing. While others never receive the healing they greatly desire. God does not have a set procedure to receive His healing.

The same is true with knowing God. There is no set procedure. A devoted seeker of God will typically go to the Scriptures to learn about God, but God desires more than us just knowing about Him. He wants us to truly know Him. It’s the difference between me being able to tell you facts about Tim Tebow’s life. He was born in the Philippines to missionaries despite doctors recommending that he be aborted, was homeschooled, spent three summers as a missionary in the Philippines, was a high school standout in Florida, went on to become a college star with the Florida Gators, and now plays for the Denver Broncos. But that isn’t knowing Tim Tebow; that’s just me knowing facts about Tim Tebow. If I were able to tell you about that time that Tim and I tossed a football down on the beach while on vacation, went out to eat, and stayed up late talking about a variety of subjects, then that would be knowing Tim Tebow. (That’s just an illustration. I do not know Tim Tebow personally.) There is a difference between knowing about someone and really knowing them.

With all that said, I still don’t want to devalue knowing about God. The ideas that we know about God will influence how we pursue knowing God on a deeper level. If we think that God is uncaring because He let our loved one die, then that will influence how much we trust Him. If we think God is aloof and doesn’t really care about individual people, then that will influence how much we are willing to trust Him and do the bold and daring actions we are called to do. If we think that God isn’t gracious and merciful, that will influence the way we view our own sins and the sins of others.

The attributes that we believe God has or doesn’t have are integral to the way we actually live our lives.

I am heading to Liberia at the end of February to teach at a conference for church leaders and install safe water systems. In the process of writing these sessions, I am realizing how much I rely on knowing my audience when I prepare a message or a lesson. One of the lessons that I have been assigned to give is “Who is God?” In preparing that lesson, I am struck by the fact we must focus on who God is and His attributes. Deceptions are various and ever-changing, but the truth of God remains the same forever. We might learn a defense against the deceptions of today, but those defenses would be meaningless tomorrow when we are faced with new deceptions.

Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32 ESV).

The truth will set us free. Deceptions will do the opposite; they will enslave us.

There is an episode of Mythbusters where they tested a myth that filtering low end vodka through Brita filters would produce top-shelf vodka. They filtered and re-filtered the vodka six times through the Brita filters and took a sample from each filtration. With eight samples (the low end, the six filtrations, and the top-shelf), they then brought in their taste testers. Kari, Mythbusters’ female co-host, totally blew the taste test when she ranked the top-shelf as the second worst and the low-end as the third best. Finally, they got around to Anthony Dias Blue, a vodka expert and the executive director of the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. When he lined up the drinks, he had it completely figured out. He had the order completely right from the low-end being the worst, through all of the various stages of filtration, to the best one being the top-shelf vodka.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that drinking vodka will get you closer to God. Like the vodka expert was to vodka, we need to be with God. If we really know who God is, we will not be deceived by all of the deceptions Satan uses to get us off track. We need to know Him so well that we will not fall prey to all of the tricks that can cause us to lose focus on God and live a wasted life.

Our thoughts about God influence the way we live. Proper thoughts about God, if truly believed, lead to proper living. Through proper living, we can get to really know God rather than just know about Him. Let us not be people tossed by every cultural wave and steered off course by every societal wind. Let us live the life we were destined to live, anchored in the beauty and majesty of who God really is.