What should Christianas think about God’s goodness?

Is God good?

As a Christian, I know I'm supposed to say yes. The Bible says He is good. In fact, the Bible says He is love. What could be better?

And yet...who among us has NOT wrestled with this question?

We see examples all day every day (if you check the news all day every day) of evil running amok. If God is good, why does He allow this?

Does He allow this?

That's one of the other questions that gets tossed about. Maybe He's not in direct control of evil, perhaps He allows His creation the freedom to experiment and evil is a consequence of that experimentation. Perhaps there is simply a chaotic element to God's creation. To me, this just seems to be side-stepping the question: If we take for granted God has the power and the capacity to prevent or change things, then why aren't things better? And since things aren't better...what assumptions do we draw about a God who is, at times, willing to stand back when He could, frankly, do more.

I don't have the answer to any of these questions. I don't know what God allows. I don't know what actions God is taking (or avoiding). I don't know if God is good, for that matter. I simply trust that He is.

In this day and age, we "deconstruct" everything. We question everything. We tear apart every assumption we've ever made about anything. We assume old ways are always the wrong ways and new ways are always the best ways.

We deconstruct faith, conceptions of God, philosophy, identity, and so on and so on. On cooking shows you'll see chefs deconstruct the burrito. Why mess with perfection, says I.

There's a plus side to all this- we're no longer a culture of people who take things for granted. We want evidence that things are the way people tell us they are. There's also a downside- we're endlessly skeptical. I can almost hear someone say, "Is God good? Well, I'd like to see the proof."

There isn't proof, per se. And so that leaves us at a crossroads: Will we believe...or not? And if we do believe, on the basis of what?

We are no longer a people who take scripture at its word...but that used to be how things worked. Now, I am again of two minds on this. I think questioning scripture and God are good and healthy things to do. In fact, we see in Psalms and Lamentations a roadmap for questioning God, voicing anger, disappointment, and so on. My other mind wonders, Have we thrown the baby out with the bathwater?

It is also good, in my opinion, to take scripture at its word, to trust that it says something true about God, His people, and a life of faith. So when scripture repeatedly tells me that God is good, I try to believe it. Notice I say, "try." It isn't always easy to do so. It takes effort. I have my doubts, at times. In spite of that, I believe it's important to believe- even when we have our doubts.

And so, for that reason, although it's not much of a reason, I believe that God is good. Not because I have all the evidence. Not because I've reasoned or logic'ed it out. But simply because, for me, this is yet another act of faith. Whether or not you want to take a similar leap of faith is entirely up to you. While you think about it, I'll leave you with one of scripture's reminders:

One generation will praise your works to the next one, proclaiming your mighty acts. They will talk all about the glorious splendor of your majesty; I will contemplate your wondrous works. They will speak of the power of your awesome deeds; I will declare your great accomplishments. They will rave in celebration of your abundant goodness; they will shout joyfully about your righteousness: “The Lord is merciful and compassionate, very patient, and full of faithful love. The Lord is good to everyone and everything; God’s compassion extends to all his handiwork!” Psalms 145:5-9, CEB

What should Christians think about the end of the world?

What do you think about when you think about the end of the world?

I think about movies.

I think about First Reformed, a movie not about the end of the world but about a priest who descends into madness because he's so terrified that the end of the world is going to come and that the church isn't doing its part to prevent it.

I think of Children of Men, where poverty, war, and global infertility (yes, no children have been born for 20ish years as of the start of the movie) lead to chaotic living conditions and life under the control of an oppressive police state.

I think about Mad Max, where society returns to a state of lawlessness following a nuclear fallout.

It's a popular genre since about the year 2000 and countless examples could be listed. Rarely (I can't think of a single example off the top of my head) do we see a post-apocalyptic movie give us much in the way of hope for society (although Kim Stanley Robinson's books do this).

No- post-apocalyptic movies are about dread and fear. They're meant to force us to examine ourselves and, then, scare ourselves straight (if you can pardon the expression) so we can avoid such worst-case scenarios as you've just seen on the big screen (or on your television).

So, how do you feel when you think about the end of the world?

I'll bet it isn't good.

For this reason, I want to talk about the end of the world from a Christian perspective, specifically what we might learn from the only passage in the Bible that describes Christ's second coming.

16 This is because the Lord himself will come down from heaven with the signal of a shout by the head angel and a blast on God’s trumpet. First, those who are dead in Christ will rise. 17 Then, we who are living and still around will be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet with the Lord in the air. That way we will always be with the Lord. 18 So encourage each other with these words.

~ 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, CEB

A few verses later...

9 God didn’t intend for us to suffer his wrath but rather to possess salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 Jesus died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with him.11 So continue encouraging each other and building each other up, just like you are doing already. 12 Brothers and sisters, we ask you to respect those who are working with you, leading you, and instructing you. 13 Think of them highly with love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.

~ 1 Thessalonians 5:9-13, CEB

As I said, this is really the only time where we're taught anything specific about the second coming of Christ, which signals the end of creation as we know it. Even then, we're not taught much. What we're taught is that Christ will one day return to earth and this will trigger the resurrecting of the dead. And then, the dead and living will float up to greet Christ.

The greeting part is significant. We are welcoming him home. He's not taking us off to some other place, we will all live together in the new heavens and the new earth. Basically, we take this to mean that Christ's return joins heaven and earth together- so that these are not two separate places- and he will continue to live with us in this new creation. To be really super clear, we're going to float up and greet him, and float back down together to carry on life in the new creation. This is the theory.

What does this teach us about the end of the world?

Well, certainly not as much as anyone would hope. But I think, from a Christian perspective anyway, the end of the world will be good news. Now, I have no idea what will happen before Christ's return. I have no idea how bad or uncomfortable or scary things will get. But, when the time is right, he's going to come back. We're going to greet him. We're going to live together, peaceably.

That's not something we're doing now. It's not even something we can conceive of. To the extent that, when I tell people I'm a pacifist, they look at me funny. You mean you don't even want to kill bad people?

Yes, correct. I don't even want to kill bad people. I see the sorting of people in terms of good or bad as God's job. And I take delight in the promise that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. I take this to mean that, one day, all will be given a chance to see God clearly for who he is and they will respond accordingly. And, therefore, we will all be living peaceably together.

It's this end that makes these verses resonate with me most deeply. I could care less if people float up to Christ or if Christ floats down to them, or if Christ stays on earth, or if Christ takes all of us elsewhere. That's just the stuff that's fun to talk about because, frankly, it's weird. But it doesn't actually matter that much, because it isn't the point. The point is that Christ's return brings peace, and peace at all levels. You will be at peace with yourself, your family, even your in-laws, your community, your society, your world.

There will be peace.

From a Christian perspective, the end of the world means the beginning of peace (or perhaps, the coming of peace in all its fullness).

That thought fills me with hope. Because if even the worst among us who has ever lived can be raised from the dead and redeemed and learn, through God, to live peaceably with others, then, well, can't we all?

All that to say...I certainly don't want the world to end. I don't want to see any more suffering, I don't want to see extra suffering. I don't want more death. I don't want more fractured relationships. But the end of the world from a Christian perspective isn't a worst case scenario. It won't involve desert wastelands, food shortages, infertility, war, or exploitation. None of those things.

In fact, it will be the best news of all. Christ will come home. And we will be at peace.

Does God help those who help themselves?

I have been slow to embrace a return to my pre-pandemic life. The pandemic brought many challenges AND some opportunities - I'm trying to learn from all of it. Combine this resistance to a return to "normal" with my health issues and I end up in my current situation - long lines and strangers fascinate me more than ever! I love when I can get out and mingle.

Standing in a long line at Target I began an exchange with a gentleman who referred to me as "young lady." Whatever his intent, I choose to hear "young" and simply feel grateful. But here is the gist of his comment, "Young lady, I do not know what is wrong with your generation. We have to stand here and wait in this long line because you people do not want to work anymore. No one wants to work. In my day, this would not have happened because we were not afraid of hard work. Folks have forgotten that God helps those who help themselves. No wonder the world is going to hell!"

The line was long and I had all the time in the world so I asked, "What was it like in your day?"

He presented his case and I believe him. He was a hard worker. He helped himself! As a result, to his way of thinking, God then blessed him. But my question is this: Did he experience a blessed life because he was a hard worker, or might something else make more sense?

Then I asked, "When would you say that God helped you the most?"

He stood still. He considered the question. He replied, "I think God has given me the strength to carry on."

"Because you worked so hard?" I asked.

"Well, I think God gave me the strength because I asked for it and He was gracious to me." He answered with humility and sincerity.

"So, maybe, God helped you because of who God is and not so much because you worked hard? Could that be it? Or, could it be that God gave you strength when you knew you did not have enough power on your own to do what had to get done?"

"Well, you might be onto something." And, I am sorry to say, the lovely young clerk who worked SO HARD to check out the previous Target shoppers interrupted our moment of connection with the mundane task of check out.

Does God give more aid and comfort to those who work hard and are self-reliant than he does "those people"? Another dear man who I loved used to say to me, "Teresa, God helps those who help themselves." I was young then and he was a holy man; I assumed that he learned this through the scriptures. Later, I checked. I do NOT know where he learned this - but it was not in the Bible. No where in the Bible does it say, "God helps those who help themselves." In fact, it doesn't even make sense, does it? Why would God burden himself with helping me with things that I can do quite competently for myself? And...isn't that advice sounding an awful lot like our understanding of codependency?

I know God is amazing but he's got a big job. Is he bad at time management? Surely the war in Ukraine, political unrest around the globe, the recent pandemic, economic upheaval, the addiction epidemic, droughts and famines, civil wars and sexual abuse, physical abuse, and sex trafficking...isn't he present in situations where no human can do enough to avert tragedy without divine intervention? Is he really going to say, "Hey, Yemen, I gotta go over to Virginia and help Teresa out because she has been doing such a good job of helping herself that I'm going to just take a bit of the load off her." I don't think so. Now, please, you know I am being cheeky. God is not only amazing but mysterious and I really do not know how he works.

But I do think many of us believe that it is important to work hard and then harder, do more, do better, achieve, strive and succeed. And, if I may be blunt, don't most people feel judgmental towards people they perceive as not working hard at self-improvement? Don't we kind of believe that God helps those who help themselves? We don't SAY this, but don't we somewhere deep, deep inside feel this? Furthermore, don't we believe that if we are not spurring ourselves on to more achievement that something bad will befall us? Are we afraid that if we ever jump off the treadmill of continuous self-improvement that we might never get up off the sofa, end up binge watching the Kardashians make a bit of a mess of their lives while eating bottomless bowls of rocky road ice cream?

For those who care about such things, the scriptures paint a picture of God who loves to give good gifts to his children (James), invites us to rest (Matthew 28), sometimes even makes us take a nap (Psalm 23), cleans us up when we have been messy (Psalm 51), helps the underdog (David versus Goliath, David versus Saul), provides for the marginalized (Hagar and her boy), uses anyone he chooses (Rahab the working girl, Gideon the scaredy cat, Moses the murderer and those 12 hapless disciples). It seems more likely that the scriptures support this set of facts: Self-help is a myth. We can no more help ourselves in our hour of greatest need than any of God's people of the past. We NEED God, we NEED others. We are terrible at self-help.

I would dare to say that God often waits to help us until we are ready to ask for his help. Maybe the true lucky ducks (read the beatitudes in the gospel of Matthew) are those of us who know how much help we truly need and cry out to God to save us as an act of faith.

It is important to examine our beliefs and challenge them. When we don't do so, we accidentally weaponize our beliefs and turn them into judgments against others. The scriptures teach that God is working over the long haul of history to move us toward his kingdom coming - a world that is just and merciful and compassionate and empathetic. Any belief that somehow makes it easier for us to look down our noses at others is indeed something we might want to ask God to help us change.

What should Christians think about success?

What should Christians think about success?

This is a hard one to write because I don't want to say too much. The concept of success is a sticky wicket and if I just un-stick the wicket then I am likely handing you a fish as opposed to teaching you to fish (you know that old chestnut). Here are a few questions to consider:

• How do you define success?

• How will you know if you've been successful at "life"?

• What do you want to be remembered for?

These aren't easy questions to answer. Success can and does look many ways, though there are some general things that can be said about how people typically define it. Most stereotypically, success is about accomplishing the things you set out to accomplish and being rewarded for it. This alone is tough to reconcile with faith- because faith promises very little in the way of rewards. We are promised to one day commune with God and people and in a new creation. But that isn't a "reward" per se- it's more just the final phase of the plan God has put in motion. So to think of success and faith in terms of rewards is a bit of a non-starter, because faith requires that we stop thinking about rewards.

Success is too often connected to the idea that we have our lives together, that we are stable and can buy the things or experiences that we want, or that we have something that other people are envious of. It's too often connected with our work (see the paragraph above). A lack of certain kinds of success can send us into a tailspin. And this probably shouldn't be the case- but since when has knowing what "should" be the case ever solved a problem for any of us?

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

~ Matthew 16:24-26, NIV

This is one of my favorite passages, but it's frequently misused. And it's confusing. Big picture- I think what Jesus is trying to say is something like, "In order to live a life of faith you have to be willing to sacrifice the things that don't align with a faithful way of seeing the world."

In other words there is, potentially, a great cost that comes from prioritizing the wrong things in life. However, prioritizing the "right" things comes with a reward. (Didn't you just say faith isn't about rewards?) The reward here is not some trinket that says, "Job well done." The reward is the discovery of life itself, life as it is meant to be lived.

But that only brings us to another question: How is life meant to be lived? How do I know if I am prioritizing the right things?

Well, I wish I could just answer those for you so we could all be done with it. I mean, yes, I could point to values as they are outlined in scripture, but I don't think you actually need that. You already have some idea of the attitudes and characteristics that we would call "Christ-like" so I don't see any point in rehashing the obvious. The part that isn't obvious is: What do you want to do about it?

What kinds of things do you want to treat as "most important" in life?

There's a lot of different ways to define success. You can define it in terms of work, or in terms of family, or in terms of personal characteristics, or physical health. It could simply be movement in a direction you want to go in. You could define it in terms of your ability to reflect God's love. How you define it is really up to you. I'm not going to tell you what to choose. But my recommendation is that you choose something, and try to find a way to move towards it.

What should Christians think about failure?

We're in the middle of a series where we're exploring what you should think about key topics as a faithful person. This week we're talking about failure.

Let's start with a couple of questions for you to think about to get you warmed up. If you're the journaling type, maybe you want to try to answer these in your journal. I don't know. It's up to you.

• What role has failure played in your life?

• What have you learned from your failures?

• Have you ever interpreted something as a failure and then later changed your mind?

• What do you think God thinks of failure?

– What would God consider "failure"?

The Bible and Failure

Let's start with scripture. For starters, the Bible has very little to say about failure, at least directly. On the one hand, we might assume this means scripture isn't incredibly concerned with failure. That's probably the easy way out. However, this probably does tells us that modern people are far more interested in failure than, well, "ancient" hearers of scripture. We might benefit greatly from asking ourselves why that might be the case. But don't worry- that's what I'm here for.

There are a few things that could be interpreted as failures in scripture. For one, anytime someone disobeys a direct order from God, like Jonah, who was told to visit Ninevah and tell the people to repent. Jonah refused. God used his means to go and find Jonah and send him to Ninevah anyway. Ultimately, Jonah "failed" to heed God's instruction, but God did what God wanted to do anyway. That's how God is with plans- when he has a specific one in mind he accomplishes it regardless of what the other person does. In such cases, failure is just delaying the inevitable. It's not really a problem. Bear in mind- Jonah was visited directly by the word of God. I wouldn't spend much time thinking, "Have a disobeyed a direct command from God?" if you can help it. If you haven't heard God's voice literally...then this probably isn't super applicable.

We could also interpret the Israelites "drifting" from God's way of life as a kind of failure (that resulted in the exile). Throughout the prophets God reminds Israel that they drifted too far for too long. Examples of this are: not caring for the poor among them (widows and orphans), not accomplishing justice and mercy, worshipping gods other than God (or, to put it differently, looking for things other than God to provide solutions to problems), and so on. These examples might be more applicable to us- but we need to remember they are communal failures rather than individual failures. American Christians are not known for their acute sense of justice or mercy, or love, or forgiveness, as much as we might like to be. In this way, as a group, we have quite likely failed.

Another example might be the disciples' anxiety about Jesus' ability to do what he says he's going to do. Mind you, we're not talking about anxiety in general, we're talking about anxiety about God in the flesh and his ability to follow through on his word.

Of course, the Bible also talks about failure when it comes to ministry (albeit in a roundabout way). The disciples are instructed to dust their sandals off and move on if their ministry isn't striking a chord with the people they are visiting. In a way, we might say scripture is pretty relaxed about the whole thing. It takes for granted that failure is going to happen and suggests the appropriate response is just to keep moving forward.

Also- Christ's death would have been considered a failure- and was by many, including many of his followers. He didn't establish a new kingdom or new rulers or lead anyone into battle, and so on. In fact, as a leader, people kept walking away from Jesus the more they learned about his message. In that way- Jesus was leading a dying church. We wouldn't exactly call this a success. In a culture that teaches us that good faith leads to more, more, more, we should be shocked to read passages like this. Jesus' own ministry was never about more, more, more.

Lastly- Jesus was not infinitely available- frequently taking time to rest and recharge and pray as needed. He did not heal or talk to everyone, and at times left people disappointed as a result. This would also not count as much of a ministry blueprint today: a leader who walked away, didn't finish the work, and was willing to disappoint. I don't care what you've heard- Jesus was not an Enneagram 2.

Failing at Life

The Bible doesn't talk much, if at all, about material success or success and work. That's typically what us modern readers think of when we think of failure: we think of our work and our accomplishments. We don't think so much about our level of reliance on God, or our trust in him, or about the ways in which we can accomplish justice or extend mercy, or whether our lives, on the whole, are reflecting the love of God.

Even if we did- we might still be afraid. We might be afraid that the type of love we put into the world doesn't measure up, that it doesn't reflect God's love at all. We might be afraid that our type of love would barely qualify as love in the first place. This is what I think about after a hard day. The kind of day where I've been cold to my wife and impatient with my child. Forget accomplishments- I don't have any of those to begin with. If I also fail at love...well...surely I'm in trouble. Maybe I am.

There are different kinds of failures in life. Sometimes we're not able to accomplish things we want to accomplish, and that feels like a failure. Sometimes we don't act in accordance with who we feel like we are, or we want to be. This also feels like a failure.

What do we do with this?

Well there's a few things. We can of course, look for opportunities to learn and grow. We can view failure as feedback that helps us know what we want to focus on or work on, it lets us know where we stand relative to where we want to be.

There's also the issue of what God is looking for. And it's my belief that God is looking for us to try. To put ourselves out there. To attempt to reflect his love as we can, where we can. Falling short is not a failure, because His love isn't dependent on our success, but on our willingness to put in the effort.

In times like these, we remember the below words from Paul, words that remind us that no one is perfect, no one has it all together. No one, not even the original minster to the Gentiles, is able to live a life free from failure. These words remind us that failure need not be our focus. Our focus is on trying, and learning to accept the ways in which we fall short just as God accepts the ways in which we fall short. Paul's message is not that faith makes us stronger or more successful, but that God uses those who seem "weak" (like Jonah) to accomplish his purposes as he sees fit, regardless of their qualifications.

It doesn't matter to God whether or not we're failures- it matters that we're useful. And you are, because all things are useful to God (especially when he decides he has a specific plan for them).

 7 I was given a thorn in my body because of the outstanding revelations I’ve received so that I wouldn’t be conceited. It’s a messenger from Satan sent to torment me so that I wouldn’t be conceited.

8 I pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me alone. 9 He said to me, “My grace is enough for you, because power is made perfect in weakness.” So I’ll gladly spend my time bragging about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power can rest on me. 10 Therefore, I’m all right with weaknesses, insults, disasters, harassments, and stressful situations for the sake of Christ, because when I’m weak, then I’m strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10, CEB