Is God lost?

I have had quite a few emails lately, asking me "what happened to God" in my posts. With a blog title that so prominently refers to Him, it appears people believe I have lost sight of the Almighty in what I write.

I can assure you... God is still on the throne.

Those who know me spiritually know that I am a relatively tolerance based moderate. Jesus is shown to have tolerated much more than he went around turning over tables, in order to show all people how He expected them to live. Believe me, God Himself tolerates much more than even I do.

This article is not about tolerance, but tolerance is exactly why I do not constantly blast The Word of God throughout each post I write. Pastor Mark Driscoll, of the Mars Hill Church in Seattle, wrote a great article on tolerance for those who want to know more.

If people saw my draft folder here on my blog site, they would see countless draft topics for articles. This is because God speaks to me about many things, and if I do not write them down I will never return to them. I always prayerfully consider if it is a subject that He is asking me to write before I write on it. Many of the ideas are for me to study, or that lead to other things.

For example, there is a draft in my folder on God's unconditional love and dogs. I love speaking on this subject, and have done so at many churches. Over the past two years, it just has not been the proper time to write on this subject. It is not that I do not believe in the message; rather it is that He gives me so many other messages that have priority.

That does not mean, however, that I always write the subjects He wants me to. As a loving God, He allows me the freedom to sometimes wander and write on subjects that resulted from my thinking about subjects He has given me, but are not quite His point in the idea. I am human, after all.

I wrote on one of my investments not too long ago. I am pretty sure God did not expect me to write on the company, but He allowed me the freedom to write about something I am passionate about and related to His thoughts about the health of the people of the world.

Do not worry. God is still in control.

He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else

I would like to start by apologizing for offending those who will read this post and be offended. I already know who you are, and quite honestly, I am not sorry that you will be offended. I would like to say that I am speaking from righteous indignation. Truth is, I am speaking from being tired and having the world dumped on my shoulders, and having people complain that I am not dealing with the world as they would have me deal with it.

I know how God feels.

Like with God, these people do not know the whole story of what I am dealing with. They do not know why I am doing what I do, and they want explanations as to why I am doing what I do. They make excuses for why they cannot be involved, or why they do not seek answers, or why they are not kept informed. They do not understand that I am not just sitting around waiting for things to do. I have commitments, time constraints, and limited resources... just like God is not sitting around playing Solitaire, waiting for us to tell Him how to fix the world (Guess what! He already has a plan!).

We, as a people, make excuses in an attempt to avoid taking responsibility for the world around us. We blame God for what happens in the world. Or we blame others. "I don't know how." "I am too busy, or too tired, or too old, or too young."

Ben Franklin wrote the title of this blog. Ayn Rand said "Rationalization is a process of not perceiving reality, but of attempting to make reality fit one's emotions." Mr. Rand's statement rings quite true in my ears lately.

"Some of us are not in a position to pick up the phone."  What does that mean, anyway? The phrase "not in a position to" is a general ambiguous clause that really means: I am not authorized to; I am unable to, even if I wanted; I am unable to NOW, but if circumstances change I could; or I don't want to. I am going to go out on a limb and assume the latter, since the one just prior really comes down to the next excuse.

"I don't have time." Are you too busy washing the dog? Or running your business? Or too busy with your own family's life? Again, this is a cop out. We daily say we do not have time for things, yet we fill unending hours of our day posting on Facebook, driving in the car (ever hear of Bluetooth?), eating lunch, watching television. Life is like a jar of rocks, and there is always time for a beer.

"It was too late." (Or too early). Prioritize. Where I am, 6am is 9am on the East coast. I find my 7am ride to work is a perfect time to call those on the East, or Central time zones. I make time to deal with people on that side of the country when I am driving and have 40 minutes that most people consider "busy." 10pm my time is 8pm Honolulu time... too late to call someone here, but not there. Lunch time here is... well, lunch time for everyone no this coast. Sorry, I just do not buy this excuse.

"I do not know what is going on!" I view this excuse as a culmination of the excuses above, and many more. If you really want to know what is going on, you will find a way to figure it out. Make time, make calls, adjust your schedule. Do not put others off because they are not available when YOU want their attention. Sometimes others are busy too - make an agreement to call or get together, and live up to that agreement. When you don't, people come to expect you will not be reliable and they will not keep you informed.

I could go on. Excuses are plentiful. Jeremiah had a pile of excuses ready when God called him to be a prophet. God says in Luke 12:48 "of he who is given much, much is expected."

Let's quit rationalizing our emotions, and do what we are called to do. I will leave this post with two things:

First, a moral story about being there when someone needs you. This is an urban legend, but the lesson is valid none-the-less. The Marine made no excuses.

And lastly, a quote from God's word:

                     The Lord has shown you what is good. 

                         He has told you what he requires of you.

                    You must treat people fairly.

                        You must love others faithfully.

                   And you must be very careful to live

                       the way your God wants you to. (Micah 6:8, NIRV)