The way we use God.

 

God wants to know (and already does) if you are just using him for what you want - or if you want to actually know him.

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You want people to know what you think. 

But you’re afraid to put yourself out there. Or at least many people are. Probably most.

Even if you’re afraid to admit it and you want to avoid any kind of downside to saying what you think or how you feel, you want to be heard.

You can deny it, and I’m okay with that, but it’s true.

We live in a culture where we/people are dying for affirmation. 

People, including you, want to be affirmed that what they say, think, do, etc is important, valued, etc.

We live in a time in which people are valued for what they can produce for us (money, agreement, etc) and we know that we are valued in the same way for many people.

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We’ve all seen memes or reminders over the last ten+ years about the need to actually listen to people as they talk and NOT spend the time while “listening” thinking about what we’ll be able to say when they finally stop talking.

The vast majority of people don’t care about what you think or say about anything – they mainly want to have a chance to tell you something and/or respond to you.

Over the last six months, give or take a day or week, I’ve intentionally tried this out in many different settings...religious, secular, personal, etc...

I’ve run across very few moments in which people were interested in wanting to know much of anything from me (or other’s I’ve watched in conversations). 

Most have been looking to be heard.  "I'm here!  Do you see ME?!"

Thinking back over a couple/three decades of conversations with many people, working through the “back and forth” with them…it’s the same.

Most people listen to the extent that they “get from you” that you’re qualified and “safe enough” to get some feedback and or attention from.

We SO want to be known. And we live in a highly competitive social/online environment and most “in person places” are shaped by our online spaces – people are often not sure who or how to be. 

There are people who would read the last couple of lines and think, “NO WAY! I KNOW how…!” and are completely lying to themselves and/or hoping that people will think they are awesome, but feel/know very deeply that they are not.

There’s a LOT more to this and it spans religion, politics, social groups, economics, music, entertainment, and much more…

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There’s a lot more to be said about this in future posts, but here I just want to introduce the idea that God would like us to know him. 

He would like NOT just to be the person that everyone wants something from.

He knows he is the provider or creator and people will feel the need to do or say stuff (worship services, giving, being good, etc) in the hopes that they can impress him enough or get enough of his attention to get him to validate them and answer their hopes, desires, and prayers in the positive. He doesn’t work that way, but knows that is how we are.

But he wants more than that - he wants us to know him.

He’d like us to listen to him and yes, he wants to listen to us too - but it is to be a relational exchange, not just us doing all the talking and asking for things.

Don’t get me wrong — I’m 100% the same way. 

I want God to be Santa, or a personal butler, or the shopping cart for my Amazon account, but it’s all free…

I honestly don’t know many people who don’t see God that way.  For most people, he’s a guy who you dance enough in front of that he finally gives you stuff.

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We want to be god.  

It's the whole Adam, Eve, Serpent, fruit/lie, story, all over again...

Or we want to control God.  

We don’t think through the whole story or process – we just assume that what we heard growing up is right and best…

….if we work hard and try our best, God will reward us with good things…OR…

….if we are on the right side of history, God will reward us with good things…OR…

…if we _______, God will ________....

And we are uninterested, unaware, or aghast that God might have different priorities than our own….

I have to sit in that for a minute. Pretty regularly.

Is it possible that God is someone who is not the stereotype many of us grew up with?

Is it possible that "church" isn't the answer and might possibly be, in its current, popular form, a distraction from knowing God as he invites us to know him?

Yes. And I’m still unpacking that suitcase from way back. 

For me at least, it will take a while.

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God is delighted in you and wants you to know him and not just the local church experience you had that introduced him and you.

Be super grateful for what introduced you to God, but be careful not to make the people or things that introduced you to God INTO God or that they are his official spokesperson,

There's a LOT more and so much better available.