I saw a sign today. It was one of those church marquee signs. I was riding to work with a fellow co-worker (He picks me up everyday. Car-pooling. I wish I could say that I do it for the environment. That would be a lie.) who was listening to someone teaching on the radio. I saw the sign, had this immediate knee-jerk reaction (surprised me really), and exclaimed, “Oh, No!. Un-uh!.” My friend is trying to figure out why I’m yelling at the guy on the radio. I explained that it had nothing to do with that.
So, “Why all the drama?” you may ask. Here is the quote from the marquee, “Our Adversities are God’s Universities.” No big deal right?
Well, as of late is it. With what I have learned in the past year and a half, it just isn’t okay anymore.
On the surface it is just a nice (albeit cliché) phrase. It is just trying to tell people, when things suck, it is ok, God is teaching you something………… (pllltttttt).
Sidenote, I am amazed at the internal response I have to that statement, even just explaining it fills me with intense emotion. I am not angry. I am upset at the underlying mentality that I believed for almost my whole life.
The problem with the statement is the underlying message. A message that the Christians have been taught for years and years. The message is that God plans bad things for us to teach us good. We believe that God, Our Good Father, does terrible, terrible things for our greater good. Even our culture believes that almost every huge catastrophic event is from God. (i.e. - Earthquake = Act of God.)
That is not God. It is not His Will that terrible things happen. I know that this is in contrast to so many people’s belief, but I know now that this isn’t true. I am sure that others of Marketing Dilemma will have post and comments that will be in this direction at times, but for now, I am going to write a post or two about this subject. This was the teaser. Your taste will be satisfied more fully later.
Until the next time.
