How often it is that the angry man rages denial of what his inner self is telling him. — Frank Herbert
I have often heard it spoke, just recently in fact “I’m angry with God! God has permitted so many bad things to happen in my life, why? Is there even a God?”
Of all the faults in my life, which there are many, I can honestly and truthfully say that I have never been angry at God. I’ve been mad as hell but never with God. I’ve felt cheated, abused, taken advantage of, discouraged, and a host of other negative emotions but I have never accused God of those things. Why is that I wonder.
There is a lot of unfairness in the world, there is a lot of suffering in the world, and there is a lot of evil in the world, all of which we cannot deny. When bad things happen to good people we blame God. We wonder if God exists because He allows so many bad things to happen, and we even curse Him when things go wrong for us. I am proud to say that I have never engaged in such thinking or activities, and I never will.
I’ve had a lot of bad things happen to me, even today events transpire that test my resolve for success or failure. Example: I was never taught to develop money skills. I was always taught to spend, spend, and then spend some more. I was never instructed to develop a respect for money, just the opposite in fact, in which the end result is I, like millions of others, just scrape by payday-to-payday. So whose fault is that? God’s? I don’t think so.
This last year has been extremely difficult for me personally. I have had to face my worst nightmare: my own past. I had to come face-to-face with ugly truths about me, elements of my life I had no desire to confront or relive. Over the course of my life I shoved these thoughts down deep into my psyche so I would not have to deal with them, but I realized that if I am to change I had to confront me, I had to resolve my personal issues and vanquish my demons.
Another item I came to terms with is that almost everything that has happened to me over the years of my existence is because I allowed it to happen. I chose to ignore responsibility and ended up in the position I find myself today. Granted there are some elements of my life which were and are beyond my control, but most of the time I found myself reacting instead of responding to events. Again is that God’s fault? Or mine?
We have all been given the most precious gift of all – free will. It is how we use this gift which determines if we react or respond to those elements which affect us. If we react poorly is that God’s problem, or ours? If we respond properly do we not take the credit and gloat about how smart we were, or do we give thanks to the Divine Providence which bestowed upon us the ability to respond appropriately?
I have come to the conclusion that being angry with God is a futile effort – on our part. If we are to get angry at anyone it should be ourselves. Only when we take complete and ultimate responsibility for our actions can things begin to change for us. And one of the things that we can begin to accept now is how we vote. Allow me to elaborate:
- Is it God’s fault that politicians create bad rules and policies which keep millions of people unemployed, or ours who never hold them accountable for their policies?
- Is it God’s fault that politicians are so corrupt, or ours for electing them to the positions of power in the first place?
- Is it God’s fault that we allow the news media to lie to us, or ours who continue to sustain them by buying and supporting their agenda?
- Is it God’s fault that we allow elitist to determine how we should live, or ours by not denying them the opportunity to control us?
- Is it God’s fault that our children are no longer taught how to earn a living, how to respect the traditions of the country, and must accept “alternate” lifestyles as normal, or ours who never hold schools accountable for what they teach.
- Is it God’s fault that we refuse to live up to our potential, or ours who take the lazy way out and force others to accept and support our miserable lifestyle?
- How is God to blame for our stupidity? How is God to blame for our laziness? How is God to blame for our own elitism, lack of ethics, and immorality?
In the final analysis it is we, as individuals who must take the blame for our own lack of accountability. If you want to be angry at someone or something, be angry at yourself and your own liabilities. Just as I have accepted my own failure to live up to my expectations so you must accept yours.
Wallace D. Wattles wrote over a century ago a small book called the “Science of Getting Rich”. He makes the case that it is a sin for you not to live up to your expectations. He believes, and I support, the theory that God wants you to be rich and has established specific procedures for this event to happen. This theory has since been supported by Napoleon Hill, W. Clement Stone, Earl Nightingale, Brian Tracy, and a host of other well established and successful people. Is it God’s fault that they are successful? If you read and listen to them you must come to only one conclusion: Yes it is.
We can blame God for our failures or we can thank God for our successes. The choice is completely ours to make. But one thing is ultimately clear; the current political system in this country is responsible for many of our problems. Politicians guide and direct policy which affect each of our lives, for the benefit of a very select few, and excruciating pain for the remainder of us.
The next time you want to blame God for all hell breaking loose in your life, you might want to consider the role our elected leadership is playing first. Then direct your anger accordingly, and I’ll lay odds it won’t be towards God.
G.
