I absolutely HATE that connotation.
If you say that, or hear anyone saying something of the kind, I want you to take pause, and actually think about the words that are being spoken.
Such things as, "God is on our side in the war." Or, "God is on our side during some sort of game, like football or boxing." So by inferance, is God NOT on the side of your opponent? Is your opponent an agent of evil? Do you even KNOW your opponent to make such an implication?
I believe such a statement is made out of pure arrogance and pride. We think so much of ourselves that we think that even God will do our bidding.
In essance, when someone mentions that God has somehow intervened into someone's "physical" realm... what they are really saying is that God has "given in" to human will.
I believe that God does NOT give into human will, but human will gives into God.
What do I mean by that?
I mean that WE are to bend ourselves towards GOD'S WILL and not try to bend GOD towards OUR WILL!
I'm serious. We should not "petition" the Lord through prayer. (The Doors, Soft Parade, anyone?)
Meaning, I want something of this physical world, so therefore... I'm going to pray for it.
I want a new corvette. We all seem to recognize that prayer was not intended for personal gain when it comes to a new car. But how about a Loved one? Isn't a "physical life" just as material as a new car, or a new house, our dog, or a new girlfriend, or our ex-husband, or a life threatening illness? Sure, some things are more important to us, but does that make them any more spiratual in nature? I think not.
As compared to eternity, this life is but a blink of an eye. So therefore, we shouldn't dwell on things that are of this life, but we should dwell on those things in the afterlife. That is what the bible says, right?
Here's a very personal example.
I want my dad to make it through heart surgery... see, that's a physical state.
That too, is physical. My emotions tend to run high when speaking of my loved ones, but they are... physical, material things. I "should" be praising God that my dad has had the opportunity to make things right and pray before going into surgery... as opposed to dying suddenly in a car crash. But I forgo all of those notions and flip out on not having my Dad around to associate with! I become selfish in my desire to please myself in the physical world. This is not what I "should" be doing. I want my dad around for selfish reasons. He'd be much better off in heaven as opposed to Illinois, right?
I remember as a child seeing a funeral in New Orleans. I saw the congregation dancing and singing as they paraded a casket through the street onto it's final resting plot. I asked my mom, "Why are they so happy? Why aren't they sad that their friend is gone?"
My mom replied, "It's because they're going to a better place. They're going to heaven. The people are happy for them."
Years later, I wondered why my mom didn't apply this knowledge towards my grandma.
That's the first time that I recognized human frailty.
Prayer is important, we shouldn't waste it by being arrogant or full of pride.
We don't need a conduit so facilitate our communication with the Lord, either! Where does it say in the bible that we should go to some preist to further our prayer along?!? WHERE!?! Where does it say that? Does some "scholar" know what's best for us, or does God know what's best for us? I'm going with God on this one. If there's just ONE example of someone in the bible going to someone else to communicate THEIR prayer for them.... instead of them doing it for themselves... then I will do a 180 on this subject. But I've yet to find it. "Hail Mary"... seriously... where do folks get this stuff from? I'm guessing this man made tradition comes from the church wanting to know what's going on with it's congregation in order to best control it's individuals in order to best control it's financial stability. Aww... I'm getting sidetracked.
God's not on your side. You should be on God's side.
My body is but a shell, my soul is what I should be concerned about. It's got a long ways to go, my body's just going into the ground.
The same christian ethos should apply towards others that we love.
Let's not be selfish and pray for them to stay around for our own well being. Let's pray that they go on to a better place as peaceful as possible and be thankful that we had the time we did with them.
Eyes on the prize.
If you say that, or hear anyone saying something of the kind, I want you to take pause, and actually think about the words that are being spoken.
Such things as, "God is on our side in the war." Or, "God is on our side during some sort of game, like football or boxing." So by inferance, is God NOT on the side of your opponent? Is your opponent an agent of evil? Do you even KNOW your opponent to make such an implication?
I believe such a statement is made out of pure arrogance and pride. We think so much of ourselves that we think that even God will do our bidding.
In essance, when someone mentions that God has somehow intervened into someone's "physical" realm... what they are really saying is that God has "given in" to human will.
I believe that God does NOT give into human will, but human will gives into God.
What do I mean by that?
I mean that WE are to bend ourselves towards GOD'S WILL and not try to bend GOD towards OUR WILL!
I'm serious. We should not "petition" the Lord through prayer. (The Doors, Soft Parade, anyone?)
Meaning, I want something of this physical world, so therefore... I'm going to pray for it.
I want a new corvette. We all seem to recognize that prayer was not intended for personal gain when it comes to a new car. But how about a Loved one? Isn't a "physical life" just as material as a new car, or a new house, our dog, or a new girlfriend, or our ex-husband, or a life threatening illness? Sure, some things are more important to us, but does that make them any more spiratual in nature? I think not.
As compared to eternity, this life is but a blink of an eye. So therefore, we shouldn't dwell on things that are of this life, but we should dwell on those things in the afterlife. That is what the bible says, right?
Here's a very personal example.
I want my dad to make it through heart surgery... see, that's a physical state.
That too, is physical. My emotions tend to run high when speaking of my loved ones, but they are... physical, material things. I "should" be praising God that my dad has had the opportunity to make things right and pray before going into surgery... as opposed to dying suddenly in a car crash. But I forgo all of those notions and flip out on not having my Dad around to associate with! I become selfish in my desire to please myself in the physical world. This is not what I "should" be doing. I want my dad around for selfish reasons. He'd be much better off in heaven as opposed to Illinois, right?
I remember as a child seeing a funeral in New Orleans. I saw the congregation dancing and singing as they paraded a casket through the street onto it's final resting plot. I asked my mom, "Why are they so happy? Why aren't they sad that their friend is gone?"
My mom replied, "It's because they're going to a better place. They're going to heaven. The people are happy for them."
Years later, I wondered why my mom didn't apply this knowledge towards my grandma.
That's the first time that I recognized human frailty.
Prayer is important, we shouldn't waste it by being arrogant or full of pride.
We don't need a conduit so facilitate our communication with the Lord, either! Where does it say in the bible that we should go to some preist to further our prayer along?!? WHERE!?! Where does it say that? Does some "scholar" know what's best for us, or does God know what's best for us? I'm going with God on this one. If there's just ONE example of someone in the bible going to someone else to communicate THEIR prayer for them.... instead of them doing it for themselves... then I will do a 180 on this subject. But I've yet to find it. "Hail Mary"... seriously... where do folks get this stuff from? I'm guessing this man made tradition comes from the church wanting to know what's going on with it's congregation in order to best control it's individuals in order to best control it's financial stability. Aww... I'm getting sidetracked.
God's not on your side. You should be on God's side.
My body is but a shell, my soul is what I should be concerned about. It's got a long ways to go, my body's just going into the ground.
The same christian ethos should apply towards others that we love.
Let's not be selfish and pray for them to stay around for our own well being. Let's pray that they go on to a better place as peaceful as possible and be thankful that we had the time we did with them.
Eyes on the prize.
