There are so many ways when we make God comfortable to us. We make Him a genie, we make Him someone who’s thoroughly kind, forgetting His competitive and just nature. We make God something He is not just so we would feel comfortable with Him. There are 3 ways and mindsets that we make God comfortable for us.
We get too comfortable with God
The ‘God wants what’s best for me.’ mindset
Yes God does want what’s best for you but that must not be the focus! He wants what’s best for you but not before His glory. Often times we put the period in ‘He wants what’s best for us’ – we don’t realize that He prioritizes His glory over our idea of ‘best for us’.
This mindset is dangerous because it centralizes God on us. It makes us think that we are so important that God is mindful of the things that are best for us when in fact, His glory is more important and He is God.
The ‘God loves me so much!’ Mindset
Yes God loves us so much to let His son die for us and to save us. That’s true! That’s why He doesn’t let you stay as who you are in this life. God loves us so much that He has to punish us when we sin against Him and He has to mold us in character whenever we stray away from the likeness of Jesus in our lives.
Putting the period on ‘God loves us so much’ is dangerous because, again, it makes God revolve around us when in fact everything is for His glory and purpose. Him loving you and changing you into the likeness of Jesus is so that He will be glorified in this world and in your life.
The ‘God wants me to be successful’ Mindset
Yes indeed God wants us to be successful! This statement is true! The question is, successful in what way? We have our own definition of success in this world and God has His own. Who’s definition does He follow? You guessed it.
Success in God’s term is to becoming more and more like Him – giving Him glory in your life. That is success for God. That is His definition of a “Good and faithful servant”. Putting the period on ‘God wants me to be successful’ is dangerous – because once your life is going downhill as far as this world is concerned, you will start doubting that God wants you to be successful in the first place.
It’s all in the mind
It’s your perspective of God that will change your life. Sometimes we say ‘it’s all about God’ but we don’t really know what that phrase means until we realize that this life we’re living doesn’t have to be good in order for God to be there.
Many also don't know what having a personal relationship with Christ really means. It becomes primarily emotionally-based and "therapeutic." No real depth. Instead of God becoming sovereign on ALL aspect of ones life, it becomes compartmentalized or "what makes me feel good." People's lack of knowledge of what our Christian faith really stands for and why we believe it is part of the problem. Compare us to the Christian martyrs of the old days or those living in persecuted countries, we have so much to experience and learn from.
True! =D good insight Jason! Thank you for sharing that.
** Pay no attention to that humbug in front of the curtain
• vicious circles of irrational appeals to authority
Let's see now — "God" wants what's good for us and "God" should be sovereign over all aspects of one's life.
It's ludicrous to read those who discourse in absolutes on behalf of some god. What happens when your "absolutes" differ? Do you revert to allegedly revealed texts? What happens then? You use your text to justify its own contents?
Of course you do. Your religious ideologies dictate the type of interpretive gloss you scribble in the margins of the fictional literature you mistakenly accept as dictation from your god. A clash of absolutes leads to anger and violence —
• a thought experiment you can try at home
For a moment, if you can, consider the status of any of the big-3 monotheisms should the purported object of your beliefs not exist.
Even better, try to imagine what would change in reality were there no supernatural events or argents of any kind whatsoever. No souls, spirits, ghosts, godlings, gods, “God”, minds, karma, reincarnation. No hell, heaven, nirvana, buddha realm.
First, nothing about the world (universe, nature, day-to-day physical events) would alter. The supernatural hypotheses of humankind say nothing about the world.
Second, following Nietzsche, you’d go on to conclude — there are altogether no supernatural phenomena, only supernatural interpretations of phenomena. (See Beyond Good and Evil section 108.)
Of course, this conclusion covers the case of physical phenomena already expressed. But, it covers all so-called psychical phenomena as well.
• political power sustained by fraud
Faith provides no contact with reality — consequently xianity (islam, judaism) must indoctrinate, lie, punish, and above all buy or co-opt secular powers. It must feed upon the faithful to enrich itself in order to make its irrational political agendas into law.
Your higher-Ponzi-scheme cannot be tolerated. Your defrauded investors are numbered in millions; your fraudulent take in billions.
i have seen these 3 mindsets at work at my own church — all crap, no wonder i've been feeling uneasy. and i don't know what to do about it anymore…
Pray and ask God if He still wants you there. Just keep on building that personal relationship with Him. read your Bible and pray everyday – that's what's important. Then if you think that your church isn't helping you grow in your relationship with God then it's time to go to another one which will sincerely help you grow.
it's not that simple since it's like the church i practically grew up in, my whole family's serving here, plus cousins even, all active in ministry…
But you're right, all i can do by myself now is to focus on my relationship with Him, to read my Bible and pray…
I'm sure it's not simple. I'll pray for you Hannah, Pray hard. Seek God. He knows the plans He has for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.