By Very Rev. Nathaniel Garang Aduotdiit
IT’S NOT WISE TO BLAME GOD.
Proverbs 19:3 ERV
“People ruin their lives with the foolish things they do, and then they blame the Lord for it.”
I have often heard people of God, so helplessly giving testimony, or rather expressing their grievance, frustration and annoyance at God when things don’t go the way they desired. I once heard someone; I think, she needed God to act quickly on her challenge, but instead God seemed unconcerned on her case, So, in frustration she says, “Yesterday night, I quarreled with God…!!!”; Another one came to me very annoyed with God; now that God cannot be seen, I became the object of this lady’s anger against God, and she wondered why God is so unfair with her; another one came to me and pulled a list of all God had done against her; her mother is sick, the brother got a terrible accident, and is admitted in Hospital; the sister also broke her legs; and she asks why God is so unfair to her: another one was very annoyed with God because, her saucepans, plates, cups all got stolen at her tea selling place, when God was merely seeing, and simply did nothing, and she wondered why God is unconcerned and negligent!! The list goes on and on!!
According to how I perceived, all these people desperately needed God to intervene in their affairs and help them, for this to happen, we need to underscore the following.
Firstly, God is not a man (Physical), God is a Spirit (John 4:23 – 24), He doesn’t relate with us the way we relate with one another. His ways, His thoughts, His plans are very different from our ways, our thoughts and our plans (Jer. 29:11, *Isaiah 55:8-9). And since He is not physical, we must learn how to approach Him! For instance, (Heb. 11:6) ERV says, “Without faith no one can please God. Whoever comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who sincerely try to find him.”
Secondly, man is fallen and sinful; and so, due to the sin barrier, God can’t hear or work with man freely, if man refuses to humble himself and address the sin problem in his life!
(Job 36:5-14) NIV, perfectly addresses the problem, he says.
Firstly, “God is mighty, but despises no one; he is mighty, and firm in his purpose.” So, claiming God is negligent or despises people, it’s not true!!
But secondly, God doesn’t overlook the sin problem!! “He does not keep the wicked alive but gives the afflicted their rights.” (Roman. 6: 23)
Thirdly, “He does not take his eyes off the righteous; he enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.” Hallelujah! (John 9:31)
Fourthly, He tell man why He judges Him, “But if people are bound in chains, held fast by cords of affliction, he tells them what they have done— that they have sinned arrogantly. He makes them listen to correction and commands them to repent of their evil. If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment. But if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword and die without knowledge.”
Fifthly, Elihu says, “The godless in heart harbor resentment (anger, blame and annoyance against God); even when he fetters (chains) them, they do not cry for help. (Instead of humbly crying to God in Confession and repentance for help and support, they blame, resent, and even insult God because of their pain and suffering)
Sixthly, Elihu says, because they fail to comply with God’s terms “They die in their youth, among male prostitutes of the shrines.” They will die sinners.
So, in Conclusion, blaming, quarrelling, resenting, hating, insulting God for your pain and suffering is just like adding Petrol to the already burning fire. So, turn and repent today, He will hear and rescue you.
The author is writer on biblical idea and CEO of Faith based Development initiative organization Juba