10/27/07 God doesn't need my help

I have been thinking about God a lot lately and faith in general. I have spent more than 1/3 of my life now, since I became a Christian, defending God and Christianity in general. Why? To bring people to the cause? To help others have a better life? I have studied the bible thoroughly, read other books from Christian authors, and read many stories from the other side, people who have lost their faith and those who never believed. In all of this I have prepared myself for apocrisis... which is the Greek word that means to give an answer. I have answered for what I thought was God on many occasions to many people.

Recently my best-friend and my wife have declared that they no longer believe in God. This brought me to a place where I had to question where I stand. It took no time at all to realize that my faith is based on no one, and no one can shake it. I know God and Christ because I have met them in my own way within the plan that they set up for me.

So why am I even writing about it? i have come to another conclusion while thinking about all of this. I have spent a lot of my life defending God and he does not even need me to. He is infinitely powerful and his creation and deeds speak for themselves. If people cannot see how wonderful the earth and human kind is, and they would rather hold to their cynical view that there is nothing supernaturally beautiful then it is not my job to change them or generate answers to their futile questions.

I have found that most people do not have a problem with God himself, they have a problem with judgmental Christians, the soul grinding/money grubbing/badly organized Christian church, and with the narrow view that belief in Christ is the only way to heaven. I cannot answer most of these questions anyway.

I refuse to defend the church in the first place because I know too much about it. I know how the church takes people in, categorize them and then plugs them into a cookie cutter program to brain wash them rather than teach them to critically think about their faith. If someone truly finds God and opens themselves to communicate with him then they will eventually realize that 90% of the believers around them, while well intentioned, are as Andrew puts it… REDNECKS! The church just fails its followers.

Andrew and Sara are pretty sure that they will eventually get me to come around to the ‘Truth’ that there is nothing, or some quasi nothing. I surround myself with intelligent successful people that I respect, and have been very blessed in that area of my life. However, they all think they are right all the time. Unfortunately, being that intelligent sometimes warps your perspective and makes it difficult for you to question your own motives for lifestyle choices. No one is complete, for every strength there is a weakness my friends.

Back to the point once again… I am not wasting my time with theoretical questions and conversations about God anymore. If someone is in pain, or is receptive to beginning or repairing a relationship with God then I will get in there and help if God wants me to. I am not wasting any more of my words defending and omnipotent being. Controversy does not mean anything to me, popular news and topics to not suck me in, and I do not care about politics. All of these things make it very easy for me to just stay out of the way of people who just want to talk. I want to talk with seekers and people who already believe. I would rather spend my time guiding people who are just getting started or trying to get to the next level, than to have hypothetical discussions with cynics. Good luck to all of my friends… I hope you have a lot of other topics up your sleeve to discuss… You are all smart I am sure you will figure it out.