Well, There’s Your Problem Right There…

Warning: this post is inflammatory. Don’t come after me if you don’t agree with it, ‘cuz you have been warned. If you want to have an intelligent discussion about it, cool.  

The problem with God is that He is supposed to honor US, not the other way around. That’s what the majority of humanity seems to think, at least. We blather on about bad things happening to good people and a God of love and all that garbage, when the truth of the matter is that the Bible doesn’t EVER say we are deserving of good things. In fact, it says just the opposite in Romans chapter 3:

9What then? Are we Jews^[a] any better off?^[b] No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10as it is written:

   ”None is righteous, no, not one;
 11no one understands;
   no one seeks for God.

There are numerous Biblical references to the fact that even though we may THINK we are righteous, doing good deeds, trying to live “good” lives, we are in fact hopeless sinners whose motivations aren’t pure. We simply cannot accept that about ourselves. We don’t FEEL sinful, and frankly, it’s humiliating to even think about somebody telling us we are. Our pride swells, and we become indignant. Um, see how that works? Pride? There’s a blot on our righteousness right there, without even trying.

We must understand: if there is the TINIEST sin in our lives, we cannot stand before God. That is where the whole Jesus thing comes into play.  He stood between us and justice when He was crucified, and proved God is the supreme dungeon master when He was resurrected. Don’t take my word for it: read it for yourself. The story starts in Matthew 27.

Now, I say all that because of an article in the Washington Post by Harold Meyerson titled, “God and His Gays.” It describes how a prominent evangelist angered Christians by conceding that homosexuality may mave a genetic component. Here’s what prompted me to write this post.

But once you recognize homosexuality as a genetic reality, it does create a theological dilemma for the Mohlers among us, for it means that God is making people who, in the midst of what may otherwise be morally exemplary lives, have a special and inherent predisposition to sin. Mohler’s response is that since Adam’s fall, sin is the condition of all humankind. That sidesteps, however, the conundrum that a gay person may follow the same God-given instincts as a straight person — let’s assume fidelity and the desire for church sanctification in both cases — and end up damned while the straight person ends up saved. Indeed, it means that a gay person’s duty is to suppress his God-given instincts while a straight person’s duty is to fulfill his.

Man, there’s just so much to say here. Let me take this apart point-by-point.

1. Man’s purpose, his “duty,” if you will, is not to fulfill his instincts. The point of our existence, the reason we were created, is to glorify God and ENJOY HIM. That? is a tall order. I realize that. In the face of a world that increasingly sucks on a daily basis, it’s really hard to keep our eyes on Heaven rather than global warming and terrorism.

2. Mohler’s response is accurate, but the assumption that follows is not. Yes, homosexuality is mentioned as a biggie worthy of condemnation, but all sin condemns us, regardless of the perceived seriousness of it. The Bible mentions adultery in the same sentence, yet we glorify that on television every single day. I doubt you’ll see an article in ANY mainstream newspaper slamming Brangelina.

3. The honest truth is, I don’t know why God makes people broken, but He does. Every one of us, if we’re honest with ourselves, has some pain we carry. I argue with Him on a regular basis about this, since my body is predisposed to store every calorie I even contemplate. If my “duty” is to follow my instincts, then bring on the cheeseburgers, dude! I marvel every time I see the kid in my church with Down’s dancing at the sound of the music we play, and I wonder why God makes people have to face the demons He supposedly allows to torment them daily – depression, loneliness, wallflowers, the odd personality that makes people uncomfortable with its awkwardness – when He has the power to wave His hand and fix it. See the movie Bruce Almighty for an interesting take on this thought. The only answer I am ever given is that sin caused the corruption in our genetic code, and that until sin is purged at the second coming of Christ, we will just have to deal with it. And yes, this means I believe children are sinners from birth. Anybody who has ever witnessed an infant throw a tantrum should recognize this.

DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND ME. I do not claim to comprehend God. That’s far beyond my brain’s meager capabilities. I wonder sometimes, just like the rest of you, if God is really a space alien, and our infantile way of dealing with Him is by couching Him in the deity we have created in the Christian faith, that maybe sin is relative, and we really are good inside. Then I remember all the “coincidences” in my life, how I found myself out of work just a few weeks before my mother was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, the voice that told me to “wait” instead of looking for a job. I was free to take care of her because I listened, and because He intervened. Why didn’t He heal her? I don’t know. I have my ideas, though, and none of them involve blaming Him for her disease.

When it comes down to it, I believe God is sovereign, which means I have to let Him do His thing without too much whining if I truly trust Him. In the end, the old saying holds true: if I am wrong, I have lost nothing. If I am right, a lot of newspaper reporters are in a boatload of trouble.