Me – 1; God – 0
I sit in the car and look at the asphalt up ahead. I think to myself “what an idiot.” Of course I’m talking to myself about myself.
*flashback* Just a few minutes earlier, I had put my lunch on the top of the truck while I put my bag in the car. I reach for the container holding my precious lunch and it rolls off the trunk and hits the ground, opens it’s lid and out rolls two hamburger patties and a piece of cheese. I am royally ticked. I mean I am just beside myself. I let out my favorite expletive “FRIG” and then in an attempt to blame someone, I place my hearts eye towards heaven and shout “could you cut me just a little slack?”
*flash forward* So I’m in my car thinking about how stupid that was and how it's not like God was just waiting for me to give him a chance to knock my lunch over.
So now I’m in the office thinking to myself: is that the way I see God. As all powerful, all knowing, all loving, ever present, but every once and a while needing help from little ol’ me to guide him in his decision making.
Sometimes I think that we think that we could do a better job. We may not say it openly and explicitly, but we communicate it subtly every time we complain. Like when it rains and we’re disappointed and say “man this weather bites”, or when we say “it’s a beautiful day, don’t know how many more we’ll have.” What we’re really saying is “God! What were you thinking making it rain today, you know how much I like sunny days!” I can imagine God saying “My bad, I guess I thought you might like some water to drink in five years and some food to eat from the crops I’m watering and some meat form the animals I’m allowing to drink. My bad!”
Every time we complain, we’re telling God we could have done better, that we have a better idea. Our disappointment means just that. Think about it. Think about when you’ve trusted someone to do a task or take care of something and it wasn’t done like you thought would be the best way, disappointment ensued. Because it doesn't meet your standard and you could have done better.
This thought, I have to admit doesn’t find its source in me. One of my great friends Adam Durkee brought this to my attention while we were walking to the store. I belted “man this weather sucks” and he turned to say “don’t you think that when we complain about the weather that we’re telling God we could do a better job?” It floored me then and still makes me think now.
Isaiah was told the same thing. In his book, Chapter 55, verse 8-9 he writes:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the
LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
So instead of telling God you’re on up on him, that you have advice for him and pulling a 'Bruce Almighty'; lay the arrogance aside and live life in light of this passage knowing that God is God, and you (and I) are not.
Roach out.
*flashback* Just a few minutes earlier, I had put my lunch on the top of the truck while I put my bag in the car. I reach for the container holding my precious lunch and it rolls off the trunk and hits the ground, opens it’s lid and out rolls two hamburger patties and a piece of cheese. I am royally ticked. I mean I am just beside myself. I let out my favorite expletive “FRIG” and then in an attempt to blame someone, I place my hearts eye towards heaven and shout “could you cut me just a little slack?”
*flash forward* So I’m in my car thinking about how stupid that was and how it's not like God was just waiting for me to give him a chance to knock my lunch over.
So now I’m in the office thinking to myself: is that the way I see God. As all powerful, all knowing, all loving, ever present, but every once and a while needing help from little ol’ me to guide him in his decision making.
Sometimes I think that we think that we could do a better job. We may not say it openly and explicitly, but we communicate it subtly every time we complain. Like when it rains and we’re disappointed and say “man this weather bites”, or when we say “it’s a beautiful day, don’t know how many more we’ll have.” What we’re really saying is “God! What were you thinking making it rain today, you know how much I like sunny days!” I can imagine God saying “My bad, I guess I thought you might like some water to drink in five years and some food to eat from the crops I’m watering and some meat form the animals I’m allowing to drink. My bad!”
Every time we complain, we’re telling God we could have done better, that we have a better idea. Our disappointment means just that. Think about it. Think about when you’ve trusted someone to do a task or take care of something and it wasn’t done like you thought would be the best way, disappointment ensued. Because it doesn't meet your standard and you could have done better.
This thought, I have to admit doesn’t find its source in me. One of my great friends Adam Durkee brought this to my attention while we were walking to the store. I belted “man this weather sucks” and he turned to say “don’t you think that when we complain about the weather that we’re telling God we could do a better job?” It floored me then and still makes me think now.
Isaiah was told the same thing. In his book, Chapter 55, verse 8-9 he writes:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the
LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
So instead of telling God you’re on up on him, that you have advice for him and pulling a 'Bruce Almighty'; lay the arrogance aside and live life in light of this passage knowing that God is God, and you (and I) are not.
Roach out.
4 Comments:
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Dude, I don't ever think I'll complain again...except maybe when someone compares me to a giant sequoia tree.(am I really that BIG?)
Thank you so much for your rants... they truly do answer some questions and some of them hit quite hard in places of my heart that I never knew existed. We are never truly grateful enough, are we?
I am with Arkay
I pretty much will try not to complain ever again.
Hey thanks for not stealing the credit!!! I was about to start calling, "Plagiarism!!!" I'm sure Dr. Maxwell would have heard me all the way down here in Virginia. Seriously, though, I was plagiarized once a few months ago on my ebay choir robe listing... and it was a pastor. Sad. Let's just say I took care of that. Looking forward to seeing you guys in a couple weeks!
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