From the outset here, this Blog is not intended to answer the questions I am exploring here. I’m just kind of doing a stream of consciousness on something that bugs me from time to time. Namely, the things that bug me are “church” clichés. Many times these clichés have been reformatted over time to resemble non-biblical ideas, but ideas that sound good and might give someone comfort in some situations. My biggest one is the cliché “God won’t give you more than you can’t handle”. That isn’t in the Bible, it never has been. He practically promises he will give you more than you can handle. This idea has been reformatted from this verse:
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
This verse is saying; “that sin you gave into? You aren’t the first to face that temptation, you won’t be the last.” He then says, he won’t let you be TEMPTED beyond what you can handle and will provide a way out of the temptation. In essence, you can really only blame yourself for your sin. This is not talking about suffering and sorrow and grief and the things we normally find attached to the phrase “God won’t give you more than you can’t handle”.
In this vein, I heard this song the other day on the radio sing “I’m giving you control” followed by “I give it all in surrender”. I felt myself cringe and I couldn’t figure out why. These are common phrases I have heard in the church since I was kid, so why do I suddenly hear these things and like a reflex, react as if someone just cussed on the radio? The answer I think isn’t quite as clear cut as my first example. I think it is more about the image it portrays. After thinking about these ideas, I came to the conclusion that in reality, I had no idea what it meant to surrender all to God and Give him control. Surrender to his will. What does this look like? If I give my wife control of the finances, she takes over specific physical tasks. If I give God control of my finances, and do nothing, I will have collections through the rough, no car and foreclosure on my house, not to mention a wife that likely will step in and prevent all of this. See, I don’t think God intends us to abandon life and “give up” sort of speak. I think He wants us to learn what his priorities are, and make them our priorities. I think many times people “surrender” to God as a last ditch effort. A moment of hitting rock bottom and deciding they finally can’t do things the way they have been. “Insanity is doing something the same way and expecting different results”
Giving control to God is more about a habitual lifestyle. It’s something that is created over time to the point here if you are truly living for God and giving him control, YOUR priorities become HIS priorities. Here is the kicker though, If you are truly living for God, you don’t even realize that your priorities have merged with his. You start to make financial decisions and time decisions that align with what God finds pleasing. James 1:27 simply states what God sees as true religion. Hint, it isn’t going to church on Sunday, or joining a small group. –Gasp- It’s to take care of widows and orphans in their time of need.
James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
I think the world has made me skeptical. Maybe I am polluted by the world, or maybe my attempts to avoid being polluted by the world has made me think twice about almost everything I read or hear, including messages that appear to come from a Godly source. This isn’t to say that the lyrics of this song I heard were wrong, or even unbiblical. I just feel like people use these phrases without understanding what they mean. It becomes cliché.
Cliché - a word or expression that has lost much of its force through overexposure
Clichés aren’t necessarily incorrect, but they lose their value when they get repeated over and over without understanding their meaning or true intention. I think this is why James stated plainly what God sees as true religion, so there was no confusion about what worldly religion was and what divine religion was.
So next time you are tempted to invoke “God’s will” or “Give God control” or “surrender all to him”. Think about what that might actually mean. It’s not a 30 second prayer, it’s a life commitment, one that many people, including those in the church aren’t willing to give.
The scariest passage in the Bible to me is this one:
Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Only those who do the will of God will enter the kingdom of heaven. Not even people who cast out demons and performed many miracles are exempt. They are called “evildoers”! I haven’t cast out many demons lately, and I’m not sure I have any miracle credits to my name, let alone numerous miracles. So am I going to heaven? Am I doing the will of God? I believe I am going to heaven, based on other verses and context of the Bible as a whole. Grace is a gift received simply through Faith, it isn’t about doing “good stuff”. (Ephesians 2:8-9) What should come from this faith, is an desire for the things God desires, his priorities become your priorities. You think differently and you start to feel like you aren’t meant for this place.
I’m trying to give God control and follow his will, his desires, but it is an effort that I have to focus on daily, it’s not a lyric I sing in the car and then forget about. I hope one day that the effort lessens and that I have so completely given my life to God that it becomes simply the way I live. I’m not convinced I will reach that point in this world, but that might just be the skeptic in me…
again.
Jon
