by Doug Hammack
How we think about God profoundly affects how we think of the Christian journey. Today, we continue examining how our image of God as King, creates a different version of Christianity than does an image of God as Lover.
Two Views of God (part 2)
This entry was posted in Two Views... and tagged fear, justice, Love, Mission, nature of God, power, Rethinking Religion. Bookmark the permalink.
Last week I introduced two ways we view God
• I did so on the premise that how we view God determines how we live the Christian life
Here were the two views…
Both found in scripture, both part of our history
• The first begins w/ an image of God as the All-Powerful King
• This God sits on the throne of the universe and determines how things are, and how they should be
• This God issues dictates required of his subjects
Live this way, do not live that way
Do these things, do not do those things
Think these thoughts, do not think those thoughts
And to enforce these dictates, God has a system of rewards/punishments
• The ultimate reward/punishment happens in the afterlife
• But on earth, lots of examples as well
• Live w/ this vice, and bad things happen
• Live w/ this virtue, and good things happen
• Meet the requirements of God the King, and it will go well for you
• Do not, and it will not
The 2nd view of God I introduced began w/ the image of God the lover
• This image is also present in many of our sacred texts
• We referenced one in Hosea last week
And, we said…
God’s love isn’t reserved for you, or for me, or for Americans, or for the middle class, or even for Christians
• No, God’s love is for all
• Consequently, the immediate implication of a God’s love…
• Is that God stands on the side of justice for all people
When our starting image is God the Lover, we come quickly to a very different view God than we do when our start-image is king
• This God is on the side of anyone who hurts
• On the side of the poor
• On the side of the widow and orphan
• On the side of those disadvantaged in any way
God’s zeal for justice rings throughout the scriptures
• Whenever people have resonated w/ the God of love, justice has followed immediately
And, we said last week…
When we begin to move from the God of Requirements and Rewards
• To the God of Love and Justice…
• We begin to live differently
• We express our faith differently
• Our religion changes
• Whereas once the naked, the prisoners, the cold, the hungry were out of sight, out of mind…
Now, our religion puts us on a quest to find them
Wherever human beings suffer evil or degradation, it is our mission to seek them out and bring to them the goodness of God
What is at stake in this question of how we view God is nothing less than the nature of the Christian life
• When ours is a God of Love/Justice, the Christian life is about becoming compassionate and caring
…about making things right on the earth
…about contending for the well-being of the human race
…about loving and being loved
…about working for the respect and dignity of all
…about caring for the earth and all its inhabitants
Though both views can be found in scripture…
Though both views have existed through history…
…the later, view, the the God of Love/Justice view
…I said last week, I believe is a fuller, more complete, better view
But that’s nothing new
Jesus said as much 2000 years ago
And in Deuteronomy 7, nearly 4000 years ago, the same
But despite the many, many places where scripture advocates for a Love/Justice view of God, the God-as-King image…
• The Requirement/Reward view of God hangs on
I believe the image of God as King is so resilient because it taps into a very deep part of us, a very deep need
• It taps into how we think about, how we feel about power
• About ultimate power, about the power of the very Cosmos
Let’s talk about this a minute…
• The essential element of a King is power
• Therefore, essential element of the God-as-king image is power
• Consider how easily the phrase “the power of God” flows off the tongue of religious practitioners
• It’s a big part of our view
The power of God to heal
The power of God to answer prayer
The power of God to change things
The “King” image of God touches a deep need in us
We need access to divine power to navigate life here on earth
The world we live in is terribly unsafe and we need to control it
• Crops fail all the time; husbands die, wild animals eat small children
• Tornados and earthquakes and droughts and floods…
• Recessions, depressions, wars, unemployment…
These and a million other risks in this life happen all the time
• They make our world unpredictable, unsafe, and frightening
• And we hate that feeling
• We hate feeling a bit of flotsam tossed on a sea of uncertainty
• And in our strong revulsion at this insecure feeling we work hard to domesticate life
• To subdue it, to pacify it, like a wild horse, to break it in
• We want to put the bit into the mouth of this wild world, bridle it, and have it tamely take us where we want to go each day
• We want to ride it to survival, safety, even prosperity
• We want to ride it to long life, health for us and our loved ones
And so, ours is a constant search for tools to do just that…
• A constant search to domesticate life
• To gain some predictability in each day
• To secure some control over this wild world we live in…
• To achieve some power over our lives
We do it all kinds of ways
(Hard work, brilliant business strategies, air bags in our cars, etc…)
• But one of the primary ways we look for power/control in our lives, is through religion
To this great human need for predictability and safety, religion presents itself as a champion…
• The best way to gain predictable life is to learn to manipulate gods
• The best way to secure control over life is to be have the all-powerful assistance of divine beings
And so, priests, shamans, holy men, witch doctors, fortune tellers, preachers have for years…
• Taught us how to manipulate the gods
• Taught us what buttons need to be pushed
…what prayers need to be said
…what obedience must be offered
…what principles must be followed
…what offerings must be made
…what sacrifices must be rendered
• To gain God’s favor, to get God’s power on our side
And if we meet the requirements, then divine rewards are gained
• Our lives become predictable, controllable
So, for most religious people for most of human history
Religion has been a tool to help us control our worlds
Religion has been a tool to protect us from uncertainty and danger
Religion has been a tool to control God’s power
Consequently, it has been in our best interests to have a god w/ power
• To have a god who is a ruler, an emperor-king
• To have a god of unlimited power and sovereignty
This is why…
The life and teachings of Jesus notwithstanding…
The revelations of the prophets notwithstanding…
• The king-god image has had such staying power
• The God of Requirements/Rewards has such staying power
• We want to see God through the lens of absolute power
• It gives us a hope of predictable, controllable life
But there was a problem when we focus on this image…
• There have been some notable occasions in history, when power has not corrupted
• Once in a great while, a ruler comes to some throne or another, and has ruled for the well-being of the people
• But as a general rule, power corrupts
• And as a general rule, absolute power corrupts absolutely
• And so, throughout history, kings have tended toward corruption
This being the case…
• When we insist on seeing God through the lens of power…
• When we fervently return to the king-God image…
• At some visceral level, we paint ourselves into a corner with a corrupt, awful god
So, for most of human history, God has not been a like-able, much less loveable character
• In our own scriptures, whenever there’s a vision of God…
• Whenever God breaks into history in some way…
• The same words are spoken every time: Do not be afraid!
• Whenever an angel appears, the first words are always the same…
• Do not be afraid!
Why is this?
Because people are afraid of power
• And people are afraid of God
• Afraid of the God of Abraham…
• Afraid of the gods of other peoples
• The gods, to most minds, are not very nice
This is the way the Greeks saw Zeus, the Romans saw Jupiter, the Vikings saw Odin and his son Thor
• Whenever god shows up, something bad is about to happen…
• Who has to die now?
• What price has to be paid for God showing up here?
So to compensate for the lethal side effects of God’s power…
• Ancient religions tried to control God through human sacrifice
• In Abraham’s time, that urge to sacrifice was transferred to goats and sheep and bulls
• Somebody has to die to make this fearsome God behave
As cultures get even more civilized over time, the sacrificial urge doesn’t go away, it just morphs into self-sacrifice
• By doing some great sacrifice of our own, we placate God’s power
• So we sacrifice our money
• Or our food
• Or our sex-drives
• Or we do great feats of moral heroics
• Because we know…
• Something has to be sacrificed or God won’t like us
The idea that God would just naturally like us…
The idea that the God who created us, would just naturally know, understand, and love what He created…
• For some reason, we find this unbelievable
Consequently, we live in fear, and we live in guilt, and we live in shame
• And in the American church, boy, do we feel this strongly!
• Guilt about the bad things we do…. Huge!
• At an even deeper level, we feel bad about simply who we are…
And all because we can’t believe that the God who made us likes us
• We say it, but it just doesn’t seem right
• So we can’t accept ourselves, for we are not accepted
So even after all these years of biblical revelation…
• After all these inspired stories telling of a God who loves us…
• After centuries of prophets, saints, and sages showing us a different way to view God…
• We still feel that if God ever was to love us…
• It would have to be because we did something to earn it
• It would be because we met the requirements and earned it
• Because clearly, God’s love and attention must be earned
And these instinctive, primitive beliefs are so hardwired into us, that 2000 years after God was revealed so clearly in Jesus
• Most people who think about this stuff, are still afraid of God
• Most people who think about this stuff, are still trying their best to control God
Making tough sacrifices, obeying the requirements, rising to moral heroism
the idea that God loves us as we are…
the idea that we are safe on the earth and beyond…
• this is so difficult to fathom
• that while we form the words with our mouths…
• while we sing the words in our songs…
• our vision of God stops w/ the idea of absolute power
• we can’t conceive of God as a lover, a God of Love/Justice
• so, the best we can do is try and gain some limited control over that immense and terrible power
• try to get God to channel his power toward the things we like
long and healthy lives
well behaved spouses and children
prosperity
escape from disaster
So Jesus walks the earth…
And when he does, people say, “Ah, God is among us in a special way”
And Jesus walks the earth, and we begin to see a fundamentally different way to view God
And Jesus walks the earth, and wise people see him as bridegroom to our bride
And Jesus walks the earth, and the prevailing God-Humanity-Power equation is rewritten
And Jesus walks the earth, and we are inviting to experience God, no longer as master over servant, but as friends, as lovers
Fear is rendered unnecessary because Jesus shows us God’s love
• The need to control God is eliminated because God is on our side
• Our need to manipulate God is eliminated because making sacrifice isn’t the point
• The God who created us, likes us
• Eyes wide open to our weaknesses, failures, sinfulness
• He likes us
So, it’s important for us to think about how we feel about God’s power
• Important to ask ourselves where our instincts carry us when we relate to a God of unlimited power
• To ask ourselves, what is the power of God like?
• How does God use the power he has?
And to think these thoughts, we need to think about what kind of power a lover wields
• And what kind of power a king wields
When we link the words “king” and “power” in our imagination, here are some words, some ideas that arise…
Imperialism Colonialism
Domination Violence
Hierarchy Control
Dictate Command
Decree Impose
Supremacy
And when our unconscious image of God is King, what can we do but expect these
When we link the words “lover” and “power” in our imagination, here are some different words, some different ideas that arise…
Relationship Rapport
Persuasion Growth
Share Counsel together
Advocate Instruct
Support Bear up
As we watch God’s Story unfold in the Bible…
• As we see how each succeeding generation gained deeper and deeper understanding of the Divine…
• We see that our Story begins in violence but moves to nonviolence
• Our Story begins with patriarchal, imperial power but ends up with relational power
• Our Story begins in domination but ends up in friendship
And Jesus is the clearest point at which we see this shift happens
• The power of a king is very different from the power of a lover
• In talking to his disciples about how they should use their power, Jesus makes it clear…
You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mt.
Good power is exercised to protect others
Good power protects children and serves the weak and those in need
Good power repairs the broken parts of other people’s lives
The broken parts of the earth
Bad power, on the other hand, serves only one’s self
Promotes only one’s self
I’m suggesting that many followers of Jesus have inadvertently associated their God with bad power
• Against the teachings of the prophets
• Contrary to the life and teaching of Jesus
• In our desire to have a god who will help us control our worlds
• We’ve settled for a god who uses bad power
Now…
All of this is merely interesting theories about how people think…
Except for the premise I began with last week, and reviewed when we began this morning
• How we view God determines how we live the Christian life
Those words I linked to the king-God a moment ago…
• (imperialism, colonialism, domination, control, command, dictate)
• Lead to a very different Christian life than the Love/Justice words
You live in the same world I do
• We’d have to be blind to not see these at work every day
• People using their personal power to gain advantage over someone else all the time
• They do it. We do it.
• People trying to gain their own objectives at another’s expense
• In the workplace, in the home, among friends
• Sometimes the advantage we press is material
• Most of the time, it’s emotional, pressing for an internal payoff
STORY:
Just this week talking to a couple having marital trouble…
• I had just watched The Patriot a movie about the Am. Revolution
• Also, I knew I was preparing this lesson for today
• I chuckled at a connection I made in my mind as I drove away…
• This couple’s marital struggles were almost the same struggle as the Crown/Colonists had during the Revolution
• One side was upset that they were being taxed, but that their interests weren’t being represented
• The other side had come to expect certain concessions from her/his spouse, and was upset that the apple cart was changing
And this is the very practical reality of our lives…
What we think about God determines how we handle our lives
So many of our relational fractures are rooted in a world where power is about gaining personal advantage
• God does it, of course we do it
• God’s power is serving God’s agenda
• And we, being like God, use our power to serve our agenda
The inside track on a deal
Easier life, fewer hassles, fewer time demands
Less making changes in our own lives, and the ability to insist other people make change in theirs
And caught up in this way of life…
• Caught up in this cycle of being…
• We don’t resonate w/ Jesus call to heal the earth
• We miss the heart of God that calls us to tend the earth
• We can’t deploy the power we have to serve others
• We’re too tired
• We’ve been spending all of our life-essence and energy elsewhere
And so, we miss the point of the KOG
• We miss the point of being followers of Jesus
• We never settle up with the God of Love/Justice
• And we never take our place as partners w/ God, bringing Love/Justice to the earth
We’re still stuck back in an image of God that is 5000 years old
So this morning, I want to pray for you
I wanted to be more eloquent yesterday when I wrote this, but eloquent wasn’t there
I wanted to be eloquent, because I wanted something deeply
I wanted what I’ve talked about for you
And a little whisper bubbled up in me…
If you want it, ask for it
And so I wrote out this prayer for you yesterday
And I’m going to offer it, and ask God to enact it on your behalf
And it’s not very dramatic
And it’s not very moving
It simply asks for HOLY SPIRIT of God to enact in you, what we just talked about…
Here is my prayer for you…
Lord…
For many, a limited view of You has polluted our lives for too long
So Lord I ask this for us, free us from lives founded on fear
Lord, free us from lives founded on guilt and shame
Lord, for these You love so deeply, I pray this unadorned thing…
Settle deeply into our hearts, this simple, simple truth
That you who made us
Understand us, know us…
And like us
And Lord, may this truth percolate so deeply that we live differently
That we walk differently
That we marry and raise children differently
That we treat one another and others differently
That we treat our co-workers, our enemies, our friends differently
That we think about what is worthy of our time/energy differently
Be this so in us, and among us
Amen