Success, Personal Growth, Positivity

Several months ago I wrote a post about Google Suggest.  That’s where you begin typing in a search term and Google drops down a menu of probable terms you may be looking for based on the popularity of searches on that topic. In my post I mentioned that if you type in the words, “Why are Christians” you will get a list that isn’t too flattering to that group of people.  Go ahead and try it. Then just for fun, try typing in “why is my” and look at the results – that’s pretty funny!

Anyway, my point is that since publishing that post, it has consistently been one of my most frequently read articles, just under the post about the pig breast cancer flu which has has close to 5,000 unique readers – cool!  But hands down, the most traffic this site receives is from people searching the internet regarding the behavior of Christians – “why are Christians so mean,” “why are Christians so rude,” “why do Christians think they are the only ones who are right,” and the list goes on and on. Although I’m very happy about getting the traffic – it breaks my heart that Christians have such a terrible reputation.

Despite the traffic opportunity, I haven’t touched the subject since that time, because quite honestly, I don’t know what to say about it. I wonder the same things. I’ve been terribly hurt by Christians yet through it all, I’ve never blamed God for how his people behave. I guess that’s because I know Him. At least I know him as well as any mere mortal can. I don’t think He is anything like the people who are representing him. No, I KNOW He’s not like that. However, I can see how those who don’t know Him may get the impression that He is a vengeful, backstabbing, jerk because of the way “His” people act. This morning I ran across a web site that makes my point for me.

I stumbled upon a site that showed National Geographic’s photos of the year. The pictures are awesome, of course. But what got my attention were the comments left behind by the site’s readers.  First, here’s a copy of some of the pictures:

These are just a few – you can see all the National Geographic pics on their site.

What did you think when you saw those pictures?  My thoughts were simple:  aaawwwww! How cute!

Take a look at the comments left by the readers of the site I found the pics:

To that guy who thinks there is a God: you remember you believed that when you die and decompose in the ground and you realize you set your life up as lie. Only problem is you won't be able to remember shit because your brain will be tomorrow's topsoil.

To that guy who thinks there is no God: "only GOD can make scenes such as these for us to enjoy" and you remember you said that when you are standing in front of Him begging for Him to have mercy on your soul.

Wow, all these great pictures, then some jackass has to throw in God.  Now I'm just sick.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Have you ever begged God for anything? I’m talking about feeling so desperate for a particular outcome that you begged, pleaded and even bargained with God? Did you get what you were asking for?  I doubt it.

I’ve begged Him many times. I cannot think of a single time that my desperate prayer was answered in the way I was asking for.

I’m sure there are as many reasons why as there are times that I begged, but I think I have figured out a few of them. First of all, each time I was in a position of begging, I was certainly not in the condition of faith. Begging and faith are like opposites, right? Faith means believing that you have already received that which you asked for, so if you really believe that you have it already, then you won’t feel that desperation that leads to begging.  Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith, it is impossible to please God. There are many scriptures that tell us that without faith, we are pretty much up a creek, so that would certainly explain why our petitions are not met when we are begging.

Another reason is that when we are feeling so desperate that it would cause us to beg or bargain with God, it is a pretty good indication that we are reacting to the screams of our ego. The ego is a complex and fascinating part of our psyche. It’s the part that strives for individuation and uniqueness.  It’s the voice in your head that says “I,” “Me,” and “Mine.” It’s the rationalization that you are separate and different than everyone else, including God. And it’s the root of all your fears and limitations. The ego steals your peace with God and it assaults your faith. It keeps you from experiencing the natural love that is you because you are a child of God. And love, is the only cure.  For more information about the ego, please read my article “Let Go My Ego.”

The third reason I think we don’t normally find God meeting the demands of our pleas or bargains is that He is an excellent parent. He loves us enough to not jump in and fix all our messes or save us from every heartache we experience. Understanding this is what helped me come to the conclusion that I’ve not been a very good mother to my three children.

I hate saying “no” to them. If they want something, I do everything I can to help them get it. If they need help, I will always be there to do whatever they say is most helpful. I want to protect them from every heartache and shelter them from all that is evil. The thing is, I know they love me and they will probably say I’m the best mother they’ve ever had….wait a minute…..but at any rate, I know I served them injustice by being over protective and involved in their lives. But God isn’t like that.  He’s much wiser and He knows what is best for us. If there is something going on that is causing us to beg and plead, there is probably an opportunity for growth hiding in the pain of it all. Although I don’t believe God creates such havoc just to help us grow, I do think He uses the messes we create to teach us valuable lessons.

Not me. When I see my boys heading for heartache, I jump right in there and try to avert it.  It’s a very good thing that I am not God!

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. Colossians 1:17

For in him we live, and move, and have our being…. Acts 17:28

One of the hardest concepts for us to wrap our brain around is that God is. He said it best: “I am.” There is nothing that is made that wasn’t made by him. And there’s nothing in existence that isn’t consisted of him. He is. That includes us (Romans 8:11). But here’s the problem with that theory: If I exist in God, and you exist in God, and so does that girl in the next cubicle as does my next door neighbor, then what makes us different from one another? 1 Corinthians 12:21 says: The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” We are all part of ONE and we are all the same.

Wait a minute! (See, now your ego is screaming!) I know God loves that person that I can’t stand to be around, but we are not the same! I don’t do the things they do. I don’t look the same either. We are very much different! Hey, that’s your ego speaking.

Not only are we different – we are many times in competition with one another. If there is only one apple and the other person gets it, that means I didn’t get it! I lost. So I must fight to get that apple, otherwise I’ll lose out. But wait, consider this: if we are all ONE body, what difference does it make if the apple is in your left hand rather than the right hand? Why are we competing? Never mind the fact that not only are we ONE body, we are also all IN God and he is I AM. Therefore, there’s never only one apple! He is the source of ALL there is and we are IN Him. We are connected to the source of ALL the apples, so why are we competing? Because our ego tells us that we are not IN Him and we are different from everyone else, and we must fight to get our own.

The ego also causes us to want. Remember, if we are IN Him, the source of ALL, how can we possibly want (lack) anything?

The ability to accept that God IS and we are all IN Him is true spirituality….and since we can’t seem to accept that very well, our ego has created a few escape routes. One is legalism….we learn how to distinguish ourselves as “true” Christians because we go to a certain church, or because we attend every service, or we read the Bible everyday and follow a whole list of do’s and don’ts. It’s a trick our ego uses to convince us that we are different. Our spirits know better. I think this is the reason we are so mean to each other! This is why Google thinks (by popular vote) that Christians are mean. Our egos convince us that we must continually compete and when someone isn’t following “the rules” we attack because it makes us feel we are better or higher up on the spiritual ladder. But the fact is, we are all connected. When we attack another, we are attacking ourself. Each of us is like a blood cell in the Body of Christ, in God. The function of me (as a blood cell) isn’t any more important or better than any other blood cell…we all have a job to do and none of us could exist without “I AM.” When one blood cell attacks another – we call that cancer. It’s deadly within the body and it’s deadly within the Body of Christ.

Brian Reagan (the comedian) likes to talk about the “Me Monster” referring to people who always have a story that beats yours. We all know people like that. From time to time, we all play the role of the Me Monster. But every single day, our ego is a covert Me Monster wrecking havoc in your faith, your success, your abilities, and your relationships. It does it with those tiny limiting beliefs and fears. Think of it this way, how could you ever, ever, doubt your ability if you were 100% convinced that you live and move and have your existence in God? How could you allow the fear of failure to reside, even for a second, in your mind if you knew that you “can do all things through Christ?” (Philippians 4:13) If you understood that we are all equal IN God, is there anyway you would ever fear what someone thought of you?

The secret to success is to let go your ego! Have you ever heard or read the question, “If you knew there was no possible way for you to fail – what would you do?” If you ever conquer your ego – you’ll be able to find out.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites