BEFORE I BLAME GOD

I have always wished I had answers to all the questions I have ever been asked. The problem with that is I didn’t realize there will always be questions from now on and forever. It’s a different thing to have answers to all the questions, yet its entirely different when you understand that you can never run out of questions.

Recently, I had a discussion with a friend concerning the happenings all around the world and it was pretty much clear he had questions about the “dormant” nature of God. “where was God when the rapist killed the innocent girl? Where was God when the police deliberate end the live of a Black person? Where was God when my father died on the highway while a robbery occurred?” on and on it goes. I leave with you a disclaimer that I DO NOT HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTION, AND NEITHER WILL I EVER DO — as hard as it may seem, I believe it’s the truth.

I am simply writing this to explain to you that the burden of blame hinges on the platter of responsibility. I have come across these questions quite a number of time and I do not shy away from them. In fact, I do encourage people to question the extent to which God is responsible for our lives and delineate the extent to which they are responsible for theirs. At the same time, I have come across a number of questions which I will put forth and share my point of view with you.

“GOD MIGHT ACTUALLY BE USELESS”

I remembered a friend having this thought and I laughed at myself. Yes, myself because I had a similar notion. My take is that we must understand the statement and know that it’s like a pendulum, which could swing either (the use of MIGHT) Yes, God is all powerful, but the concept of choice is even more liberating. Liberating in the sense that He gave us the power of choice which means once we make a choice/decision we must enjoy the benefits and consequences (if any) that accrues to it. Thus, it seems as though God’s hands are tied simply because He respects our choices; good or bad the consequences if any, can’t be escaped.

“I THINK GOD MADE A MISTAKE GIVING US THE ELEMENT OF CHOICE”

I particularly like this one because it does make more sense, because if you think about it this is what got Adam and Eve in this mess. I have come to understand eventually, that it’s more difficult to love when the person you love has the choice not to reciprocate besides, if you look through it all, you’d realize the devil was the trickster that got us here. It is easy to be kind to your dog cos it’d always come back to you, but it’s not easy to love your babe because they can always go for another fine boy/girl. They can decide to break up with you and you can’t force them back.

“GOD SHOULD GONE AHEAD TO PUNISH SATAN DIRECTLY, NOT US”

He didn’t punish us; I need us to be clear on that. It’s like I mentioned earlier, once there is a choice there is a consequence. Adam and Eve sinned with that choice, so God simply told them the consequences of their action. People tend to think God was happy explaining the consequences when he found out what Eve did, obviously he was angry and at the same time sad. You know that mixed emotion thing you have against a loved one? yeah that was it. In a nutshell, it’s a “don’t touch the fire, lest your hands be burnt” situation. As unfair as it may sound, we’re still feeling that burn (killing, raping, racism and knowledge of everything bad) till today. JESUS is the fire extinguisher.

MY TAKE

We need to accept the fact our world is messed up. We have crazy, wicked, weird, good, generous, bad etc. kind of people. Thus, it is only wise that communities, societies and countries come together to build systems that guides against crimes, poverty and all kind of vices. Yes, we have religion and I strongly believe religion is here to enhance the nature of humanity and not bring it down.

I need to reiterate that the world needs to accept the reality and make the right moves, this is why countries invest so much into security, education and welfare packages. I mean you do not expect God to come supply electrical power, even Thor will not come down to give you lightening. The same way God will not build good roads for us, nor will He install security cameras on the street for us. The society, a responsible government is meant to do everything in its power to provide the necessary facilities that facilitates proper livelihood within its jurisdiction.

This is why I always tell myself: BEFORE I BLAME GOD, WHAT COULD WE HAVE DONE TO AVOID THIS?

I do feel sad when people have natural disasters and they blame God, really who else can they question — the elements? of course not and I only can pray that they heal. At the same time, I believe every action taken by men against men should be dealt with by the society, that is why I do not only pray that people get healed but that the right personnel are placed in power to utilize the resources of the government to do the right thing. Religion is meant to enhance the human nature, so if a country is highly religious yet under developed then it’s only obvious the leaders are grossly irresponsible.

I PRAY OUR WORLD GETS BETTER WHILE WE DO OUR BEST AS HUMANS TO DO THE RIGHT THING.

@sammysheyi