The Crutch part 1
I think I've Ranted about this before, but every time I hear someone say it, it grinds my gears. You might have heard it too. It goes like this, "Believing in God, or some higher power, is just a crutch for people who are too weak to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps!" Drives me crazy. Because guess what: Nobody is strong enough to do it by themselves! We all need help. And knowing the truth behind that statement... ASKING for the help we need... that's not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of wisdom. But before we get too far into this I want to quote my Bible passage for today. Jude 1:24-25, "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." And the key part of my key passage is, "...able to keep you from falling..." God IS a crutch. Of course He is. If your son stumbled, wouldn't you catch him? Of course you would. What parent wouldn't? And my real question, the reason I think I get so fired up when people accuse God of being who He is, is this: What's worse... needing a crutch and not having one, or having one and not needing one? I think the former is worse. And I think those that accuse God of being a crutch KNOW they need one and are angry that they don't have one. Because we all stumble. We all make mistakes. The problem isn't making a mistake. The problem is when you refuse to learn from your mistakes. My dad always talks about how when he was a kid he got in trouble a lot... but never for the same thing twice. You live and you learn. You learn and you grow. And I believe that's what Isaiah 30:21 is talking about. "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." I don't believe in this angry God just waiting for us to mess up so He can "get us." Punish us. Whatever. I believe in a loving heavenly Father who has been there, done that, and got the t-shirt. He knows the way to go--the more excellent way of love--and He walks behind us, whispering in a still, small voice, "This is the way... walk in it." He doesn't stop us from going our own way. We can turn to the left or the right. But He's always there to SHOW us the way. To correct us. To keep us from falling. If we'll let Him. If we'll accept that we can't do it ourselves. That we don't always know the way to go. If we stop trying to do it ourselves and follow the words of wisdom in Psalm 37:5 (NLT), "Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you." Trust in Him... and He will help you. Because He doesn't want you to fall. He wants to hold you up. Like a crutch.