In The Image of God

This is where I begin to lose some, piss off some, and confuse others. If you’re still with me after this, congratulations, you rock. If not, I don’t know if your name is Felicia, but BYE.

I generally make it a point not to do religious editorials, simply because religion is the single most divisive facet of human existence. However, I will make an exception this time.

Since I am impatient and quite blunt, I will simply say this:

Quit asking God to save you from situations you are completely capable of handling. Quit begging God to deliver you from this or that. Quit begging God to drop some random thing in your lap that you can obtain yourself by simply doing the work. Now, do not get me twisted. I am not saying, in any way, what you can and cannot pray to God for. That is why I speak in generalities. What I am saying, unequivocally, is to stop treating and approaching God as if he is your fairy godmother. He’s not. He doesn’t work that way.

I see this stuff on social media all day, every day. You want to ask God to do something major in your life? Awesome, you do that shit. You want to ask God to give you strength to endure? Rock on, you badass you. However, each of us needs to realize (that is…if you believe this) that God gave us two arms, two hands, two legs, two feet, two eyes, and two ears. He also gave us a brain which just so happens to be the most powerful computing machine in the history of…EVER. God gave us the tools to get shit done. The way so many people approach God is like a grown man asking his father to tie his shoes.

Granted, there are some situations we have no control over. If you’ve actually cracked open the bible and you know the story of Paul sitting in jail singing and praying, that’s one of those situations. Dude was locked up tighter than the Coca Cola recipe. He was wrongly imprisoned and there was nothing he could do other than sing and pray, so that’s what he did. And God was like, “Man, they got my dude locked up on some dumb shit. Excuse me while I go fix this.” And he did, like the boss man that he is. Paul got up and walked right out of jail. What I’m talking about isn’t that. What I’m talking about is what we have all done.

I can’t say exactly how God will work, cuz…I’m not God. I can, however, say with certainty that a large portion of our issues simply require a little brainpower or elbow grease. Or both. We expect God to do everything for us. I read a long time ago, “Stop asking God to give you a lighter burden. Ask him to give you a stronger back.” That has stuck with me for many reasons, namely because if we don’t get stronger in both life and faith, then we fail at everything we do because we didn’t learn the lesson. You don’t get better at your job by having less to do. You don’t do better in school by having less challenging work. You don’t become physically stronger by not doing anything. The same goes for faith. You don’t become closer to God by not having any adversity in your life.

God allows adversity in our lives for two reasons: to learn how to trust him, and to learn what we are capable of when use the tools he has given us. But too many times, we don’t use the tools and we expect him to take care of our problems. I am not saying not to trust or consult God. I am saying to trust that he has endowed you with the tools you need to overcome your adversity, whatever it may be. We can overcome most things by applying some thought and action, but we get so scared that we forget how strong and capable we really are, and before we really give our best effort, we ask God to take it away or make it easier. Not cool dude, not cool.

Only you can determine what you take to God. And he did say that whenever we call, he’ll be there. But it’s rarely when/where/how we want. Sometimes that silence you perceive is actually God telling you to keep calm and apply yourself. God will always be there, but, like any good parent, he also wants to see us make a valid sustained effort. He’s got no problem stepping in or lending a guiding hand, but he’s not going to live your life for you.

God is not a pair of magic slippers that you can click together 3 times. He’s not a “bippity-boppity-boop” wand waving fat grandma figure that turns you into a princess (or prince). He is God, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the big boss man. Psalm 139:14 says “I will praise you, o Lord, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” 2Timothy 1:7 says “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of love, power, and a sound mind.” Yeah, he said he’d always be there for us, but he also said that he created us in his image and that he made us to be pretty badass.

God is not your babysitter, so stop treating him like one. You are not some helpless infant, incapable of thinking for yourself or taking legitimate action, so stop acting like one. Pray to God to bring more financial stability in your life, but at the same time, work on getting that promotion. Work on getting that better job. Work on getting that job period. Take some classes to improve your value. Learn how to invest, smartly. Pray to God to help you lose weight. But while you're praying, walk a mile every day. Get a bicycle and ride around the neighborhood every evening. Learn about proper nutrition. Trade the fast food for whole grains and vegetables. Pray to God to bring the right person into your life. But at the same time, quit looking in the bar or the club. Quit jumping into every ill-prepared relationship you come across. Work on becoming the right kind of person for the right kind of person. In short, quit asking God to do things in your life you are too lazy and too unwilling to put in the work for.

God fearfully and wonderfully made you. Remember that. He gave you a spirit of power and a sound mind. Use that. Never think that you can’t go to God, but remember at the same time that he designed us to handle our shit.