Monday, January 9, 2012

Giving God the Credit and the Blame

Isn't it amazing how humans have to have someone to blame when things go wrong and at times to thank when things go right?  In our society recently we have had both situations and people have proclaimed that God is to thank for certain things (such as football plays that miraculously save a game) or that God is to blame for (automobile accidents that claim a life).  I suppose that it is easy to just fall back on giving God the credit or the blame for things that cannot be explained because it has been worked into our vocabulary by insurance companies and others that describe these as "acts of God".  When a tree falls on your car and causes you damage, it is an act of God, they say.  When a tornado comes out of nowhere and rips your house apart, that is also an act of God, they say.  When a certain quarterback on a certain team makes a play that is hard to explain, some also call that an act of God.  I would think that if God has a sense of humor, and I think that God does, then God is sitting back and laughing at the human race for describing such incredible acts as acts of God. 

God may explain such things as simply as that when the weather works as it does at times, warm air rushing to meet cold air, then tornadoes happen.  When trees begin to get old or sick and a huge wind blows, then a tree may fall and if your car happens to be nearby, then that tree may fall on your car.  When people drive in an irresponsible manner then someone may get hurt or die, even if someone else is the one doing the irresponsible driving.  If two football players have practiced most of their lives at their crafts, then isn't there a great proportion of the time that perhaps their practice may pay off and other players may not be able to prevent them from succeeding? 

Why do people need a supernatural explanation for everything is not readily explainable?  Why can't it be that sometimes things just happen as they do, that the laws of the universe that were set to work at creation are working and most of the time they work as they should and things good and bad may happen as a result?  Now, humans do interfere or interact with the laws of creation and perhaps they are to blame for things going awry at times.  People drive the cars and throw the footballs and build the houses and park the cars near trees.  People use the gas and burn the products that causes the pollution that make the atmosphere different that causes weather changes.  So, people do have an effect upon the good creation that God began.  But....God is not just waiting in the heavens to assist a football player to make a good play or to cause a car to crash so that the driver can go to heaven.  At least, not the God I believe in.....

I think that God loves all of us as much as we can be loved and God would never cause us to have pain.  God wants to help us to live so we don't experience pain but we have to learn how to live if we are not going to have the suffering in our lives that we experience.  We often suffer because of our actions or the actions of others and when life falls down around us, we suffer because we internalize the pain.  We care about the suffering and we have pain as humans do. 

Our Buddhist friends teach that when humans let go of what is troubling them, they can be free from pain.  They attempt through meditation to let go and make their lives as pain free as possible.  Christians can do the same thing by allowing God to be in control of their lives and not attempt to solve all the problems they may encounter.  Christians can also meditate and begin to free themselves from what plagues them so that their lives will be more fulfilled.  Think about the good things of life and try not to dwell on negatives and life will be richer and less stressful.  Allow others to assist you when you need help and try not to carry your load alone.  Allow God to be in control of life and enjoy the life that God would give you.

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