Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry
We like to believe that we are in charge. Nobody likes to be told what to do. Even worse, we hate it when somebody tells us that what we are doing is wrong. We like to pass judgment on others and we hate it when others pass judgement on us.
These are reflections of our opinion of our place in the cosmos. We believe that we are the center of it all. What we like, what we dislike, what we think is right, what we think is wrong……..all of this is of utmost importance. It must be……. because we are of utmost importance. But, where does this leave God? More to the point…… what is our correct relationship with God?
Our tendency is to use God as a tool to work our way through our “to do” list. We trot him out on Sunday for an hour and tell him how much we honor him. Before we go to bed at night we pray a prayer that sounds a whole lot like a “to do” list……….but often it is our “to do” list, not his. Worst of all, we pass judgement on his activities. How many times have you heard……or said,
“I can’t believe God would __________________”.
Think about the relationships in your life. Who is it that you give a “to do” list to? Who is it that you critique their behavior? Who is it that you shun because you don’t like the way they behave………a child, an employee, a servant, a subordinate, an enemy……..or the creator of the universe.
Either God created the universe and everything in it, including us……. and we are a tiny peripheral piece of it or we are the center of the universe…………………….and God is a supporting character.
You can tell which camp you usually fall into by looking at your thoughts about God……….. and your prayers to him. Do you praise him, thank him, ask for his guidance? Or do you give him assignments and tell him things that he is doing that need to be fixed? Do you go to him for moral guidance…….. or do you pass judgement on him?
Is your relationship with your creator centered on his majesty and on your humility? Or, is it centered on your hubris?
As Dirty Harry put it, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”
Or, as John the baptist said, “I must become less and he must become more. “