"God is the source of all good things" from http://abounding.seranates.com was our devotion this past staff meeting.
*sigh* I have such a problem with this. I'm not even sure where to begin.
Let's start with a question: If God is the source of all good things and "we cannot take credit for any good thing that exists in our lives because all of the good that is in us was bestowed to us by Him" then it stands to reason that God is also the source of all bad things, correct? This line of thinking would lead most people to think "If I honor God, if I do His will, then good things will happen to me. If I sin, then bad things will happen to me."
I'm sighing and eye rolling so much already, this may be a long post.
I believe that all things are created by God. I believe Jesus Christ died for my sins. I do not believe that God bestows blessings and punishes sins while we are on Earth. Save that for judgment day, my friends. I believe man was given free will and it's by our own decisions that we praise God or dishonor Him.
Some people may argue with that point and continue to say that God is the source of all good. If that's true, then you have to believe that we have no free will. That everything is of God, from God, by God. If that's the case, why is the world in the crapper? You tell me.
The thought that "God is the source of all good things" makes it seem like we are incapable of good things. You worked your tail off, studied hard, and aced a final. Nope, you had nothing to do with it. All good things come from God. Yes, I believe God created us, but isn't it what we do with what God gave us that we achieve anything? Do you really think God's guiding hand was acing that final for you?
What about the righteous woman who gets breast cancer? Did she do something bad and is the brunt of God's wrath? No. Absolutely not. Or the holy man who dies prematurely from liver cancer? Was he being punished? No. He was not.
There is good and bad in this world. It's all about free-will for me. We, as a society, have created disease, plagues, cancers. We did that. God did not do that. We, as a society, have a chance to change the world...to make it better. Free will. It's our choice.
I honor God. I praise Him. I thank Him for my life. But I take credit when credit is due. God didn't run the mile and a 1/2. I did. With the body He gave me and a lot of hard work. God didn't ace that test. I did. With the brain He gave me and a lot of hard work.
Maybe the point of "God is the source of all good things" is the paragraph above. If God didn't give me this body or this brain, I wouldn't have passed. But, if I didn't train hard, I wouldn't have passed either. So, is it using the talents God gave us the point of "God is the source of all good things"?
Another sigh & eye roll.
It still begs the question: If God is the source of all good things, is He also the source of all bad things? Or do we only get credit for the bad?
It's no wonder I'm so conflicted.
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1 comment:
You're not so much conflicted you're just questioning and thinking; and that's a good thing. Often what you write get's me to thinking. I think you're on the right track with your train of thought. I agree that God doesn't cause good or evil. He created everything and put it under our control. And we don't seem to be doing the best job. And so there is cancer, war, smog, etc.
Keep on thinking and writing. I love it.
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