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Blaming God
If you follow the NFL, you have probably already seen this video. If you haven’t seen it, take a look. The Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied in overtime, and the first team to score, wins the game. The Bills have the ball on the Steelers 40-yard line when Stevie Johnson breaks through the Steelers defense. Ryan Fitzpatrick delivers a perfectly thrown ball to a wide open Johnson in the end zone…
…and he drops it.
What would have been the game-winner, bounces in and out of the hands of Johnson. The Steelers would then go on to win the game 19-16. As big of a story as that is, what transpired after the game has become the bigger story.
Johnson, obviously disappointed, took to Twitter to air his frustration. However, Johnson did not blame himself for taking his eyes off the ball. He didn’t blame himself for not getting his hands into position.
My initial reaction, like many of you, was to question how Johnson could blame God for something that was so obviously Johnson’s fault. His eyes and hands were not where they needed to be. How can he blame God for that?
Then my thoughts turned to myself. I wondered if I had ever done the same thing as Johnson. It didn’t take long before I realized I am often the same way. When things are going the way I want them to go, it is easy to praise God, but when life does not turn out the way I had planned, I often question or blame God. Even when it is my own foolishness which gets me into trouble, I sometimes demand that God explain to me how he could allow that to happen.
Perhaps you can relate.
Perhaps you and I are a lot more like Stevie Johnson than we would care to admit. In fact, Johnson may even be a little more mature than many of us. The day after, Johnson tweeted this:
Johnson went on to tweet that he was not trying to blame God, but that he was simply crying out and asking “Why?”. He also said that after talking with friends, teammates, his wife, and Kurt Warner (via Twitter), he is able to see the bigger picture, knowing that God can use these trials for higher purposes.
Hard times are a part of life on this earth. Everyone experiences them. God is not worthy of praise just when things are going my way. That is selfish. God is worthy of praise always, because God is always here for me. When things are going well (according to my standards), God is there blessing me. When things are not going so well (again, according to my standards), God is there to lead me through it.
I want to be more like Job. After losing his possessions, his livelihood, and his children, one would expect Job to be angry with God. Instead, Job has the faith to declare:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1.21, NIV).
What lessons has God taught you (or is currently teaching you) through difficult times in your life? Please share in the comments.
Hustling for Jesus
I know what you’re thinking: “How does selling stolen stereos out of the back of a van help the Son of God?” Well, just think of all the things we could do with the money we would make! We could build schools, support missionaries, or buy a sweet bus for the youth group, complete with 20 plasma screens, a sub-woofer the size of an NFL linebacker, and a fold-out half-pipe. Okay, just kidding. That’s not what I’m talking about at all. But if someone would like to donate that bus, I could definitely put it to good use.
Today, the sports world is abuzz about Hanley Ramirez, the Shortstop for the Florida Marlins. If you haven’t seen or heard what happened last night, check out the video here.
Hanley accidentally kicks the ball into the left field corner, then jogs after it, showing absolutely no hustle and no concern for the runners rounding the bases. Two runs score, and the batter ends up on third base. Florida Manager Fredi Gonzalez benched Ramirez for this pathetic display, and after the game, Ramirez not only showed no remorse, he actually criticized his coach.
Ramirez has shown the sports world that it’s about him. Whether he feels this way or not, it appears that he does not care about his teammates nor his coach. If he wants to jog after a ball instead of sprint, he should be able to do that.
Before you are too quick to point your finger, ask yourself if you might be the same way when it comes to your church family. For you, is church about God and your spiritual brothers and sisters, or is it about you? Do you complain that you are not being fed, yet you never feed others? Do you argue that your needs aren’t being met while you ignore the needs of those around you? Do you wish that your church did more, even though you don’t lift a finger?
The church is Christ’s body (1 Corinthians 12.27), and we all play a part. Just like the Marlins cannot win a championship if one player doesn’t want to hustle, Christ cannot complete his work if you or I decide we don’t want to “hustle” or give it our all. When I make church (Christ’s body) about me, the whole body suffers (1 Corinthians 12.26), including myself and Jesus.
As a disciple of Christ, you are part of a team, a body, a church. If Christ is to complete his mission to bring the whole world to him (Ephesians 1.9-10), then we must put aside our selfish desires and give it all to him and his church. Our attitude should be the same as that of Jesus himself, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2.6-8).
Let’s ask ourselves: “Have I made church about me instead of about Christ and his followers? What can I do for someone else at church? How can I use my talents to serve my church? Am I an encouragement or a discouragement to other Christians? What am I doing to meet the needs of the people around me? Do I have the attitude of Christ?”
Michael L. Parks 