“Don’t go shopping for a god, Gods are not for sale.” Psalm 16.4
Yesterday I went shopping for another god. I think I was an avid shopper.
You see, the tension of the week began in full force. Politics were raining from all sides, personnel were expressing their doubts about continuing to work with me, and I kept forgetting appointments. I needed a new god!
As my doubts grew, I reflected on god’s failed obligations. God is supposed to protect the good guys from the bad guys. God is supposed to give us insights on getting the most in life, i.e. eliminating the stress points during each day. God will never let us fail by forgetting an appointment.
This is god’s job, right? God continued to “fail” in my day. Results were not there; god did not get the process of relieving and eliminating done. Maybe god worked hard at his job but I didn’t see the expected achievements. Time to go shopping!
I looked around and found an answer. Do it myself! Take care of business, handle it on one’s own, be a man.
I went for a walk when tensions came up. I ranted and raved in response to the politics. I schemed and plotted my moves. I set my targets on the bad guys and worked to build alliances with the good ones. I excused the missed appointments and set new ones. I was god.
I found myself without the assurance of the future. I found myself without hope. I found myself judging others, implying their motives and plotting my revenge. I found it difficult to see or experience the good in others; the evil in everyone was right in front. I missed God.
God’s voice filtered through the care of a child. “Go home dad, get some sleep. I love you.”
God’s voice carried grace. God’s voice brought hope. God’s voice soothed my feathers of war. God’s voice accepted me right where I was. God’s voice did not leave me there. God’s voice lifted me up.
God isn’t for sale, he’s free!
