Why don’t people like God, the father?
The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.
Dawkins, “The God Delusion”
This is an extreme example. Mankind’s reaction to God ranges from unbridled hatred as in the example above to intense love……those who would give up their lives to honor God. Today, I want to explore the middle ground. I’m focusing not only on those who don’t love the father…..I’m concerned with those who don’t even like him. Many of these people are Christians. You may be one of them. Also, I want to focus on one part of the Trinity……God, the father. Jesus…..the kinder face of the Trinity……is easy to like. The Holy Spirit is abstract enough that we generally don’t have strong feelings toward him/her. So……what about God, the father?
I am talking about the God described primarily in the Old Testament. Many people discount some of the things attributed to God in the Old Testament. Many people blame anything bad that happens on Satan……or fallen man……or free will. And that is, no doubt, sometimes the case. But, sometimes, the bad things that happen are the work of God, the father. He either initiates these “bad” things……or at the very least…….he allows them. I believe that the Bible is an accurate description of God, the father. And sometimes we are uncomfortable with the things he has done.
God has a public relations problem…….and not just with atheists and secular humanists……..but, also, with Christrians. We believe in God. We worship God. But, when was the last time that you heard a Christian say, “I really like the father.”
What follows is an attempt to understand this problem. I hope to shed some light on why atheists and secular humanists reject or downplay the father. I hope to shed some light on why Christians focus on Jesus……as we should……but largely shy away from the father.
Reasons why don’t people like God the Father:
He does bad things to people in general and to me in particular.
He allows evil to exist in my world.
His long-range plan includes destruction of the world.
He allows me and the people I love to die.
He doesn’t exist……..so I don’t bother with him.
He threatens me with eternal damnation…….over and over.
He tells me that I cannot do things that I really want to do.
He thinks that he is better than me.
I don’t like his plan for my life.
I can do a better job of running things than he does.
He gives me things that I don’t want……and withholds things that I do want.
I want to be in charge of my life…….and everybody else’s too.
I want to be God.
You can, no doubt, add to this list. You may find that a few of the items on this list push some of your buttons. Christians…….and atheists/secular humanists as well…….need to deal with this list. Because everything on this list is an impediment to your relationship with God.
So…..
How do we react when God does bad things…….when God misbehaves?
The first step is to understand how we define “bad things”. It turns out that we typically define “bad things” as things that make us unhappy……in the short run. A loved one dies. We get passed over for a promotion. Someone harms us. If we are honest, we call things bad when they interfere with our short-term happiness. But understand, God does not operate on a short-term time frame. God operates on an eternal time frame. God has a plan that extends far beyond my immediate appetities…….even beyond my legitimate short-term needs.
The next step is to understand our relationship with God. God is sovereign…..and we are subordinate. We are not on the same plane as God and we never will be. God makes the rules. God makes the definitions. Because of his sovereignty……God is right…….by definition. The corollary is that if we disagree with God…….we are wrong. If we object to the Bible……no matter how carefully considered our assessment….no matter how bulletproof our logic……..we are wrong. And we hate that.
This calls for us to accept several points:
Humility and subordination……we are second class beings in God’s world…….we always will be.
Trust…….God is a benign dictator…….he is looking out after our best interests…….both individually and corporately.
Admit our limitations……….we are broken……we are incapable of running our lives……much less the universe
If we can do these things……….we can someday honestly say:
“I like the Father”……..or better yet……..”I love the Father.”
The moral:
It’s really easy to like or even love God when he sends blessings into our lives. If God gave Satan free reign over the world…….even Satan would like God. He might even love God.
The real test comes when God allows or actively sends bad things into our lives. Perhaps there is something that we desperately want or even need…….and God withholds it.
Try this prayer:
“Father, I love you and I trust you…….I just don’t understand”
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
God in Isaiah 55: 8-9, ESV
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
Job 1: 21-22, ESV
The moral:
It’s really easy to like or even love God when he sends blessings into our lives. If God gave Satan free reign over the world…….even Satan would like God. He might even love God.
The real test comes when God allows or actively sends bad things into our lives. Perhaps there is something that we desperately want or even need…….and God withholds it.
Try this prayer:
“Father, I love you and I trust you…….I just don’t understand”