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Who, me?

We are so good at denying that we are angry, especially when that anger is directed at God. It’s painful to admit we are angry at the only one who has the power to help us. Our fearful little selves know He also has the power to destroy us—but that fear can also lead us to feel He not only doesn’t want to help but He will refuse to if we do anything so vile as to admit our anger.

All right, so what could make us angry at Him?

It could be something as simple as feeling as though He has hurt us . . . ignored our pain . . . took something valuable from us, like a child or a future.

We could blame Him for something that is actually our fault. An unhappy marriage comes to mind first, since I’ve know some folks that have blamed God for “letting me marry the wrong person!” Somehow many of us choose to think that God doesn’t really provide a way out from our temptation (I Cor 10:13), rather than admitting our emotions or our hormones got in the way of listening to His voice. Then we get angry and hold on to that feeling.

We could blame Him for something more complicated that has happened to us, like abuse suffered at the hands of others (especially parents). It’s easy for us to forget that old bugaboo FREE WILL.

Funny thing about free will: we all want it for ourselves, but not so much for others. This comes up in conversation on a regular basis. People ask why God did something or allowed something, blaming Him for the actions of a person who chose (using FREE WILL) to act wrongly. You can bet God spoke to the person, telling him not to go through with it, but did he listen? Nope.

We also get angry at God when children are abused, when dictators live in luxury while their people are in poverty, and when extremists murder the innocent for daring to believe differently than their narrow view.

That anger is actually righteous and justified, but only when it’s directed toward the perpetrators. God is not to blame for the actions of sinners, no matter how heinous the offense.

But we get angry anyway.

I think our society is particularly good at that anger because it has become fashionable to take offense at any little thing that inconveniences us. If someone voices an opinion that disagrees with yours, get angry! If God gets in the way, get mad!

This is a dangerous stance to take. Not physically dangerous—God isn’t going to strike you down—but continually raging at every little thing drags your soul into the dirt. That anger feeds on itself until you can’t see the good anywhere.

No joy. No peace. No God.