(Un)Characteristic of God Part 1

God is not a Cosmic Vending Machine

Matthew 5:43-48

You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.  He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?  Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet your own people, what are you doing more than others?  Do not even pagans do that?  Be perfect, therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect.

(Author's note:  I'm going to try writing a series on the characteristics and/or non-characteristics of God from my perspective as influenced by many others in the Judeo/Christian community, but please feel free to join the conversation by leaving comments or via social media)

Life isn't fair.

From the time I can remember in my youth, my parents saw fit to say this to me whenever I deemed my circumstance non-beneficial.  I now serenade my own children with this wise proverb.  What is unsettling is that for many of us, our understanding of this reality fosters an unrealistic perspective of our own grievances.  Simultaneously there is a failure to realize the truth that more often than not we are disproportionately "blessed" at the expense of others, who in a cruelly ironic way, have a more substantial claim to life's inherent unfairness.

For example, I recently went through a period of depression and anxiety.  While the U.S. healthcare system is far from perfect and I am by no means rich (relative to the U.S.), I was able to get the care I needed to get myself back to functioning somewhat normally.  I am a part of a loving family.  I have clothing, shelter and I eat everyday.  I live daily without the fears so many people face everyday just to stay alive.  You could argue that I am already rich and just don't know it yet.  The fact is that people live their whole lives trying to get what so many of us in Western civilization take for granted. Regardless of how much we have, it is never enough.  Even some of the world's top earners don't seem to identify as being rich and it shows through their actions.

What does this have to do with God?

Many, you could argue most, Christians in the west seem to have a faith that centers on the individual person and/or individual church.  If you are a member of the "right group" and do the "right things," God will bless you in this life as well as the next.  This manifests itself in many forms from the prosperity gospel to any expression of faith that defines itself over others.  The problem with this is that this distorted version of scripture leaves us short sighted:  We all have suffered, will suffer again, and will eventually pass from this life.  We cannot take any of our material possessions with us, regardless of how much we have or have not.  Nothing on earth will last, and even the earth itself is impermanent.

With the reality of suffering and death hovering over us, it is easy to feel fearful and hopeless, and those feelings have impacted both the "believer" and "non-believer" alike.  As churches we pray for ourselves, maintain ourselves, and seem to do good to others only when it seems to benefit ourselves or the churches we are a part of.  The further someone is from what is considered acceptable, either by belief system, race, class, etc., the more we distance and exclude that person or persons.  When many of us are challenged, we retreat further into our own bubbles.  This has caused many "non-believers" to look at the church and want nothing to do with it, which in its worst form has led to a "you only live once" form of nihilism that puts the self above everything.  Sadly, meaninglessness is quite prevalent regardless of identity, but I believe there is a way to give life meaning and to "rise above" the fear that dictates so much of life.

How can we transcend the material?

As we are conscious of our mortality, how can we establish meaning and purpose outside of an identity rooted in material possessions?  I believe the aforementioned scripture is key to navigating life.  Jesus is not asking us to feel bad for what we have or to be ashamed of our identity.  The call to love our enemies is extravagantly more difficult, and if we are to believe the Gospel narratives, Jesus not only said to love the enemy, he lived that calling unto death.  All of this is easy to write, say or preach from a pulpit, but how does it function?  What outlasts the physical?  Relationships.  The goal is not to try to be perfect or pure in action, but to try and be perfect in love.  When we do our best to care for others in spite of our limitations and sins it lives beyond us.  As I learned from my favorite comic growing up, with great power comes great responsibility.  The more we have, the greater our capacity to not only do much good, but also to do great harm.  Another passage from scripture may perhaps help us to break free of the hold possessions have on us:

Mark 10:17-22

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him.  "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"  "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered.  "No one is good -except God alone.  You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.'"  "Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."  Jesus looked at him and loved him.  "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me."  At this the man's face fell.  He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

What would the world look like if we all lived as Jesus commanded?  No one I know identifies with the rich man in the text.  Far too many of us think we have earned everything we have through hard work and that charity is best given.  What if we truly loved others, especially those we consider enemies, no matter the material cost to us?  What if we truly empathized with "the other," realizing how our sense of worth and way of life actually contribute to the lack thereof we see outside of our "tribes" and "cliques?"  What if we valued relationship over possession?  What if we used our possessions to further relationships instead of using our relationships to further possessions?

Kenosis is a Greek word which means self emptying love.  One reason I still self identify as Christian is that I believe God to be incarnate in the person of Jesus the Christ, and that God's relationship with us is most appealing as expressed through Jesus' life.  So what can we learn and improve about life through that lens?  Where numerous churches look to convert and are concerned with right belief, Jesus is concerned with healing and right relationship.  Where many faith communities require a list of actions before a person can join a church or take part in sacramental life, Jesus lifts up the marginalized, the outsider, and the oppressed.  Instead of leading a violent insurrection against the unjust Roman government, Jesus exemplifies kenosis by dying a violent death.  Jesus would rather die than use his influence to reinforce another oppressive power system.  A "cosmic vending machine" God is not represented in the way of Christ.  The way of Christ is the narrow road.  It is the road of empathy, of forgiveness and of love.  It is a life of abundance, not of scarcity, calling us to rid  ourselves of the idols we hold dear to attain a better sense of purpose and to lift up our relations with others and of God.  We can choose this way regardless of identity, just like we can live in fear regardless of identity, whether Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Agnostic, Atheist, Sikh or other.  It may be foolish, but I dream of a day we can shed the things, goals and destinations that cost us our lives and the lives of those we care about.


Shalom