Selasa, 11 Juli 2017

Can a Christian Drink Alcohol

January 26, 2017

On Monday night, news broke that Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Shaun White had been charged with vandalism and public intoxication. On my Facebook wall, I posted the following comment: “This just in…and the gold medal for character enhancement, once again, goes to alcohol.”
For years, well-meaning, sincere Christians have debated the subject of drinking. Let me be clear by saying there isn’t a single verse in the Bible that says a Christian cannot have a drink; although the Bible clearly warns about the destructive and addictive nature of alcohol (Proverbs 20:1; 21:17; 23:29-35; Ephesians 5:18) and is very clear that drunkenness is always wrong (Romans 13:13; Galatians 5:19-21; 1 Peter 4:3; Habakkuk 2:15; 1 Corinthians 5:11).

The Bible is also clear that mature Christians should avoid causing others to stumble by drinking (Romans 14:21), and that leaders ought to avoid drinking alcohol (Proverbs 31:4-7) and cannot be given to drunkenness (1 Timothy 3:3, 8 Titus 1:7.)
I have yet to hear from anyone who drinks how alcohol enhances anything or blesses anyone. Max Lucado said, “One thing for sure, I have never heard anyone say, ‘A beer makes me feel more Christlike… Fact of the matter is this: People don’t associate beer with Christian behavior.”¹ I’ve yet to see how it improves someone’s testimony or makes anyone a more effective witness for Christ. Quite the contrary, like Shaun White mentioned above, or Richard Roberts, Oral Roberts’ son, who was arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma, driving under the influence, the result doesn’t enhance your testimony. Rather, it takes away from what testimony you had.
Recently, a friend of mine, former megachurch Pastor John Caldwell, wrote an article in Christian Standard magazine called To Drink or Not to Drink? Here’s the link to his article. John’s article explained why he has personally abstained from drinking alcohol and dealt with the bigger issue of the contemporary church becoming more and more like the world.
Not surprisingly, a number of people responded to John’s article and some called him to task for taking such a strong stand against drinking. In response to the responses, my good friend Ken Idleman, former President of Ozark Christian College and now Pastor of Crossroads Christian Church in Evansville, Ind., wrote these words, which are among the very best I’ve ever read on this issue. I asked Ken for his permission to share them here.
“OK, I am conscience bound to weigh in on this one… For a minute, forget about making a definitive case for or against ‘drinking’ from the Bible. Here’s the truth from logic and real life. No one starts out to be an alcoholic. Everyone begins with a defensive attitude saying, ‘I’m just a social drinker and there is nothing wrong with it!’ no one says, ‘It is my ambition that someday I want to lose my job, my health, my self-respect, my marriage and my family. Someday I want to be dependent on alcohol to get through my day.’ Yet, this is the destination at which several millions of people have arrived. Why do you suppose that is? It is because alcohol is promoted and elevated as a normal/sophisticated activity in life… It is also expensive, addictive and enslaving. People get hooked by America’s number one legal drug. And just like all illegal drugs, alcohol finds it way into the body, the bloodstream and the brain of the user/abuser.
I had two uncles whose lives were wrecked by alcohol. The exception you say? Hardly. It is not what they wanted when they dreamed of their futures when they were in their 20s. Praise God, they were wonderfully delivered in their 60s when the grace of God became real to them. And can you imagine it?… They got their lives back by becoming total abstainers by the power of the Holy Spirit!
One of my most memorable conversations in the state penitentiary in Jefferson City, Mo., was with a young man facing a 28-year prison sentence for the brutal sexual assault of his own 8-year-old daughter. I will never forget the image. The tears literally ran off his chin and splashed on his shoes as he gushed, ‘I guess I did it. I don’t know. I was drunk at the time.’
Listen, some of those who are defensive in response to Dr. Caldwell’s thoughtful and courageous article will want to revise their text if, in a few years, they discover that they were able to handle their drinking just fine, but their son or daughter could not. Answer honestly. Could you live with the knowledge that your dangerous exercise of Christian liberty factored into your children’s ruin? Or, if your loved one is killed some day in a head on collision by a driver under the influence who crossed the center line, will you still be defensive of drinking?
A good friend during my growing up years was the only child of social drinking parents. When his folks were away, he would go to the rathskeller [German for tavern] in the basement where he developed a taste for alcohol. I won’t bore you with the details. He is 65 today. A broken life, broken health, broken marriages, a broken relationship with his only son, a broken relationship with his only grandchild, a broken career and a broken spirit that…tragically…he tries daily to medicate with the alcohol that led him to this tragic destination.
Hey, thanks for indulging my rant. Like my friend John Caldwell, I confess to setting the bar high for Christian leadership [especially] when it comes to aesthetic holiness. Call me a ‘right-wing fundamentalist.’ Call me a ‘throw back to the days of the tent evangelists.’ Call me a ‘simpleton.’ Call me a ‘minimalist.’ But, if you do, go ahead and also call me a ‘watchman on the wall’ where the welfare of my family [children, in-laws, grandchildren] and my church family is concerned.”²
Personally, I’ve yet to have my first beer and have no desire to start now or to drink alcohol of any kind. At the same time, I don’t judge those who believe they have freedom in Christ to drink. But when asked, I always tell people I don’t believe it’s the best choice.
The bottom line is this: The question really isn’t CAN A CHRISTIAN DRINK? Rather, it is: SHOULD A CHRISTIAN DRINK?
© 2012. Barry L. Cameron
¹ David Faust, Voices From The Hill, (Cincinnati, OH: Cincinnati Bible College & Seminary, 2003) 252.
² John Caldwell, “To Drink or Not to Drink,” Christian Standard 11 August 2012, 18 September 2012.

When a Pastor’s Kid Doubts Her Faith

Andrea Lucado

June 20, 2017

My dad tells this story from when I was five years old. He was teaching me and my two sisters about the Garden of Eden. In the middle of the story, I interrupted, “Wait, if God didn’t want Adam and Eve to eat from the tree, why’d he put it in the garden?” And thus my impulsively inquisitive nature reared its head.
Such questions and concerns have never quite left me. I’ve always felt the need to ask why? until I get a sufficient answer. I consider this a gift now. Curiosity and questioning are what have led me to deeper truths about God and about myself and others. But when you grow up as a pastor’s daughter, there are expectations.

My father, Max, has been the pastor of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio for almost 30 years—my entire life. I do not know life apart from church and apart from being a visible member of the church. For the most part, this has been a wonderful and enriching place for me and my growth as a believer in Jesus. But somewhere along the way, while being raised in front of the congregation’s eye, I began to carry the weight of expectations. I needed to act a certain way. I need to look a certain way. And, I needed to believe a certain way. My faith needed to be strong like my mother’s and father’s. It needed to match my poised exterior.
So I kept my doubts to myself. I talked to my parents about them, but few others. I grew inward in my faith. I kept it private for fear of others knowing that I asked questions like that one when I was five years old.
In the church of my childhood, and still today, there is a prayer time at the end of the service. Several members of the congregation called “prayer partners” line the front of the auditorium, and the rest of the church body is invited to come forward for prayer. No one told me I shouldn’t go forward for prayer during that time, but because I had internalized those faith expectations, I didn’t think I was allowed to. I never even considered it. Not once.
What would people think if I, Andrea Lucado, went forward for prayer? They would think my prayer life was not strong enough on its own. They would think something was wrong with me or my family. I saved the prayer partners for those who were brave enough to be prayed over in public.
I wonder if this happens to other pastors’ kids. If somehow in the midst of all of the church people we know, we end up living private spiritual lives. I had quiet times. I read and studied and prayed, but I did so alone.
I lived my private spiritual life for as long as I could, until it didn’t work anymore. Until the doubts grew overwhelming.
I moved to Oxford the fall after I graduated college. I went there for a master’s program in English literature at a school called Oxford-Brookes. During the year I was there, the questions that had been rumbling beneath the surface came out in full bloom. The world of Oxford academia will do that to you. Being plucked out of the Bible Belt and dropped into post-Christian Europe will do that to you. Being the only Christian in your class for the first time in your life will do that to you.
Why do I believe what I believe?
Would I still be a Christian if I had not been raised in a Christian home?
Why do the atheists and agnostics I know seem more peaceful and loving than many of the Christians I know?
These questions swirled round and round in my head. My nights turned restless with them. And my quiet times, the ones I had been faithfully keeping since high school? They turned, well, quiet. So quiet that they only echoed my own voice back to me. “Anyone out there? Anyone out there? Anyone?”
What I wanted instead, what I needed, wasn’t God, but someone, a physical real-person someone, to show me the way. I wanted to talk to someone who I knew was talking to God, even if I couldn’t or just didn’t want to.
I found that in a friend in Oxford. He was kind. He was fun. And his faith was not in turmoil as mine was. He had a steadiness to him that I craved. We didn’t talk much about my own faith. We went on walks and ate out at restaurants and drank tea on my couch to keep our hands warm in the winter months. It seemed that being near him was exactly what I needed that year. I needed to simply talk to someone who was talking to God.
The people who talk to God, as I learned, can do a lot for you and for your faith if you let them. I once heard author and pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber speak. During the question and answer session at the end, a guy stood up and said, “I had faith and it was strong, but now I’m doubting. I feel weak in my faith. What should I do?”
Bolz-Weber’s suggestion? “You can take a break now. Let someone else on the pew be strong for you.”
I like this idea of giving each other permission to take a break from trying and let the others on the pew be strong for us for a little while. This is not something I gave myself permission to do growing up as a pastor’s daughter, but it is something I am a strong advocate for now.
I left Oxford with a deeper faith than I had when I arrived. The restless nights eventually led to a knowing and a peace, largely due to that friend and a few others on the pew I let be strong for me for a while.
I still find it difficult to go forward in church for prayer. I default to keeping up appearances and appearing strong and fine, but I’m getting there. God has been gentle and patient with me and I hope that one day, when the pastor calls for the time of prayer, I’ll be the first running down the aisle.
This article originally appeared here.

The Moment LeBron James Became The Unquestioned Leader Of The Cleveland Cavaliers

Since the definition of leadership is “influence”, LeBron James was leading the Cleveland Cavaliers when he was just a sophomore or junior basketball player at St. Vincent – St. Mary High School in Akron (OH). This is because the Cavaliers were already involved in player movement and salary cap manipulation which would position them to ultimately select the local prodigy with the first pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.
When James arrived as a rookie he was already a national celebrity. He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a high school junior and several of the team’s games during his senior season were telecast on ESPN. James had signed over $100 million in endorsement contracts with Nike and trading card companies before even being drafted. Season ticket sales increased from 2,000 in the 2001-2002 season to 10,000 before James played his first professional game. Reported attendance figures rose from 11,497 to 18,288 per game during his rookie season. LeBron James was clearly the face of the franchise and everything would be built around him.
But there is a MAJOR difference between position and influence. James had the position. But he needed to earn the respect of the team’s veterans.
In Terry Pluto and Brian Windhorst’s great book The Franchise: LeBron James and the Remaking of the Cleveland Cavaliers, they track the rise of James from growing up in a single-mother home to his first trip to the NBA Finals in 2007. They made an interesting observation about James’s ascension to his role as team leader.
The team’s head coach at the time Paul Silas was quoted as saying, “He went from a (19-year-old) rookie who had to show everyone that he was a player…Well, he showed them (see video above). He put up numbers. And he started to take on leadership.” What we learn from Silas’s quote is young leaders begin earning influence by producing results. But more is required.
General Manager Jim Paxson said, “The only thing I thought LeBron needed to do after his rookie year was learn how the best player on the team must compete and lead every day in practice. LeBron played hard. But he wouldn’t always stay after practice for extra work. He’d do his thing with the media and go home. Other players saw that. When your best player works extra, then the others tend to follow.”
Paxson gave that feedback to James who made the immediate changes. The rest is history.
LeBron James was the face of the franchise the moment he was drafted. But he became the unquestioned team leader when he began leading in the areas of sacrifice, hard work, and showing his commitment to the success of others with his time and effort.
For leaders to reach their maximum level of influence, your position is not enough. Even your production is not enough. Motivational speeches are not enough. For a leader to reach their maximum level of influence you must also be willing to lead in the area of sacrificing for the success of others.
What is one thing you can learn from LeBron’s rookie year which will make you a better leader?

Click HERE or on the image to the left and as a free gift for subscribing to this site, you can receive my new Ebook 1269 Leadership Quotes: Timeless Truths From 2016’s Top Christian Leadership Conferences. Featured are the Johnny Hunt Mens Conference, ReThink Leadership, Orange and Leadercast Conferences among others. If applied, these insights will make you an exponentially better leader. Enjoy!!!

Daddy-Daughter Dates: 5 Things You Need to Know

Sunday was a great reminder of just how super-blessed I am as a father. But I realized that a big part of why I enjoy such rich relationships with my grown children today is the intentional things we did parenting our kids when they were young.

In this episode of the Lifeschool Podcast I will share why Daddies should be regularly dating their daughters. I’ll give you some of my proven steps and activities to take to ensure your dates with your daughter are amazing too. (This works with mothers and sons too!)

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

When the right age to start dating your daughter is
How these dates can be a picture of what God is truly like and how He sees and values your daughter
How the way you treat your daughter on these dates sets her expectations for relationships with men in her life.
How Caesar’s proven Daddy-daughter Date Checklist will help you have amazing times together you will cherish. We’ll tell you how to get your free copy today.

There is no better way to unlock your daughters’ hearts, and pour into them a sense of beauty and value, than these cherished one-on-one times together. Memories are built, friendships strengthened and you’ll build a bond of trust that will last a lifetime.

[Listen Now]

ALSO check out... And as long as I am extending Father’s day and speaking to the brothers, you should also check out this post and video on having awesome date nights with your wife too!

5 Steps To An Awesome Date Night With Your Spouse

Blessings!

–Caesar

P.S. If you have any questions or thoughts, please hit Reply...I love hearing from you.

15 Habits Of The NFL’s Most Successful Players

On Monday evening, June 26th the NFL Network announced the league’s Top 10 players as voted on by the players. If you are a leader, this is an important list because it shows what talented people admire about their contemporaries.
The following 15 Habits Of The NFL’s Most Successful Players:

The Most Successful People Are Resilient. They Bounce Back From Adversity. – Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was rated the 10th best player in the NFL by his peers. Interestingly, he was not rated in the Top 100 in 2016. Teammate Vic Beasley said, “I’m proud of the way Matt bounced back. People doubted…To see him keep the confidence and stay positive, that’s what I admire about him.”
The Most Successful People Are Versatile. They Are Good At A Lot Of Things. – The Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell was voted the 9th best player in the NFL. Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins said, “You usually have versatile players who are kind ‘of good at a lot of different things. He’s the best at everything. He’s the best running back in this league.”
The Most Successful People Continually Improve. – New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was rated the league’s 32nd best player after his rookie year in 2015. The following year he improved to #10. This year he climbed even higher to the #8 spot.
The Most Successful People Have A Great Team Around Them – Dallas Cowboys rookie Ezekiel Elliott running back was rated the 7th best player and the league’s best running back by his peers. It helps that he runs behind the NFL’s best offensive line.
The Most Successful People Give Their Teammates Great Confidence. – Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers was voted the game’s 6th best player. First let me say – Are you kidding me? I had him rated as the game’s 2nd best player. In any event, after losing four consecutive games in 2016, Rodgers boldly predicted, “I feel like we can run the table. I really do.” He also led the league last year with 40 touchdown passes. The team won its next eight games and made it all the way to the NFC Championship game. For more on Rodgers, read 12 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers
The Most Successful People Lead By Example And Work Hard – Oakland Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack was rated the 5th best player in pro football. Teammate Darrius Heyward-Bey said, “Khalil Mack. Leader. He changed our franchise…Two guys (Mack and quarterback Derek Carr) that was going to change the culture; who was going to go out there and show that hard work was why we were going to win.”
The Most Successful People Produce Superior Results – Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown came in at #4. Since 2013, Brown’s 481 catches are the most by any player in NFL history over a four-year period.
The Most Successful People Often Do Not Receive Enough Credit – The Seattle Seahawks incredible cornerback Richard Sherman said of the #3 player, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones, “I have a ton of respect for him. And even the people who give him credit aren’t giving him enough credit.”
The Most Successful People Start Fast – The Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller came in at the #2 spot. Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis said, “I’ve kind of watched a bunch of film on him to really try to see how he does what he does. His first step is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
The Most Successful People Have Great Intelligence – The 2017 #1 player in the NFL is the New England Patriots incomparable quarterback Tom Brady. Where do we begin. JJ Watt said, “He is so knowledgeable of the game. He knows every situation that he is in.” But there is more to come on Brady as you will see below.
The Most Successful People Have Great Passion – Jameis Winston said, “He (Brady) is very passionate about the game. He is always engaged in the game and he is always engaged with his teammates.”
The Most Successful People Have Great Focus – Teammate James White said, “He (Brady) has the ability to keep us motivated whether we’re up 40 or down 40. Laser focus. Laser focus.”
The Most Successful People Do Not Quit – Beasley said, “He (Brady) has the ability to not give up. He is a champion because of it.”
The Most Successful People Still Have Something To Prove – Buffalo Bill guard Richie Incognito said, “When he came back off the (four game) suspension he had something to prove. And we knew it was going to be rough.”
The Most Successful People Make Their Teammates Successful – Beasley observed, “He (Brady) got (wide receiver Christ) Hogan looking like he’s the offensive player of the year. Nobody even knew who Hogan was. That just shows you the type of player he is that he makes his teammates great.”

What is one thing you learned from the NFL’s best players which can make you a better leader?

Never Blame God

By David Mathis on May 31, 2017
DesiringGod.org

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You are not the first Christian to have felt angry at God, and you will not be the last.

Scripture: Psalms 115:3, Lamentations 3:37-38, Job 2:10, Matthew 10:29 (view more) (Suggest Scripture)

Tags: Faith, Doubt, Hope, Blaming God (Suggest Tag)

You are not the first Christian to have felt angry at God. And you will not be the last to feel the urge to blame him.
We Christians can be prone, in our pain, to point a finger and raise a fist at heaven. If we believe in God at all, we should believe he is bigger and stronger than we can even fathom. Our Bibles are filled with what we might call “big God” verses. We’re told God does whatever he pleases (Psalm 115:3; 135:6), nothing happens outside his control (Lamentations 3:37–38; Job 2:10; Proverbs 16:33; Matthew 10:29), he will accomplish all his plans (Job 42:2; Isaiah 46:10; Daniel 4:35), and not even a rebellious human will can thwart him (Proverbs 21:1; Revelation 17:17). Even when others mean evil against us, God means it for good (Genesis 50:20). He is stronger than any threat against his children, and whatever he lovingly allows into our lives, he does so for our full and final good, even as it is indeed painful, not pleasant (Hebrews 12:11).
We talk about God bringing trials into our lives, and God testing us, and we should. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2–3). And yet we need to be careful, as our vision of his sovereignty expands, that we not attribute something to him in a way the Scriptures do not. James himself, sensing a possible misunderstanding of his powerful rally to count our trials as joy, wants to make sure we know God is not the dispenser of evil in the same way he is the giver of good. He stands sovereignly over both good and evil, but he stands directly behind good, and indirectly, as it were, over evil.

God Himself Tempts No One

In the same opening section of his letter, and just eight sentences after his now famous charge to “count it all joy,” James makes his strong and pointed clarification. God is indeed sovereign over all our trials, and uses them for our good, such that we can count them (even as we don’t naturally feel them) as “all joy.” However, he says,
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. (James 1:13–14)
In Greek, the noun trials in verse 2 and the verb tempt in verses 13–14 have the same root and make the connection clearer to the original readers, even as these words take on distinct meanings in their contexts (and so we translate them differently in English). Verse 2 emphasizes external testing, while verses 13–14 focus on internal temptation.
What James hopes to maintain for us in both our external trials and the resulting internal temptations is that God is never the one to blame. God is indeed sovereign over evil, but in such a way that he is never the author of evil. He is never the one to blame for our pain, but rather the sovereign one to whom we turn for help. That’s where James 1:5 comes in: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” God is the generous giver of wisdom for navigating our trials, not the one to blame for them, even as he reigns over them. James 1:16–17 has this very clarification in view:
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
God is indeed fully and utterly in control of his world, from the biggest details to the very smallest. He does bring suffering and pain into our lives — but never in such a way that he is the one to blame for our pain. He is the one who gives generously when we ask. He is the one to whom we reach out for help. He’s the giver of every good and perfect gift to whom we look for relief, not the one to whom we point our finger in our pain.

Suffering Tests Our Love for This World

As much as James may have the reputation today as a “wisdom teacher” who pens disconnected sayings in succession, a coherent train of thought that works together as a whole emerges here in his opening chapter. James 1:6–8, then, becomes clearer in light of his coming charge not to blame God in pain, but come to him for help.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Doubt here (as is often misunderstood) is not a humble crisis of faith, but arrogant anger at God. It’s not about doubting his existence as much as doubting his goodness in suffering. The basic sin James calls attention to in his letter is this double-mindedness (James 1:8; 4:8), which is a kind of halfhearted compromise with the world. It is “friendship with the world” and “enmity with God” (James 4:4). This is what suffering does: it tests our love for this world. Are we double-minded, trying to put our trust in both God and his world, or is he our greatest treasure?
The heart of such double-mindedness is blaming God for our pain while, at the same time, asking for his help and relief. But as James 1:17 clarifies, he is “the Father of Lights,” not the one responsible for the darkness.

God’s Asymmetrical Ways

The ways of God are not illogical, but they often defy the powers of logic — that is, they don’t strictly follow from human premises to human conclusions. The truth that God is sovereign over all things (Romans 11:36) does not mean that he is sovereign over good and evil in the same way. He stands directly behind every good gift (James 1:17) but not directly behind evil (James 1:13). He is the giver of every good and perfect gift, but never the author of evil.
One passage in the Bible where such asymmetry in God is captured so beautifully and powerfully, as a shining light in the midst of very great darkness, is Lamentations 3:32–33. In the bleakest days of the long, convoluted history of God’s people, when a foreign army has decimated the holy city, the prophet does not blame God for the devastation he has brought on Jerusalem. Rather, he remembers these glorious asymmetries that hold out hope for God’s help.
Though he cause grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
for he does not afflict from his heart
or grieve the children of men.
Though God does cause grief, he does not grieve from the heart. Though he does afflict, he does not do so from the heart. Is this just doublespeak? Or does it point powerfully to something deep in the heart of God that can help us know we can trust him, come what may?

His Mercy Is More

A similar sighting of such asymmetry comes in Romans 9:22–23. As the apostle Paul makes as plain in this chapter, God is sovereign over all things, including the eternal destiny of morally accountable humans — and yet that does not mean that God wills good and evil to equal ends.
What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory?
The point of the rhetorical question is plain: God’s display of wrath and demonstration of his power are penultimate actions. They always serve a greater purpose — in the universe and in his own heart: to make known the riches of his glory to those on whom he has mercy. As John Piper comments on these verses,
Though God does accomplish all things by the counsel of his will, he does not bring about all things in the same way. In the accomplishment of some things he employs intermediary agents perhaps. Or to put it another way, his heart is engaged differently in different acts, loving some deeds in themselves and inclining to others only as they are preferable in relation to greater ends (cf. Lamentations 3:33). If this is the case, Paul would be implying that not wrath but mercy is the greater, overarching goal for which God does all things. (Justification of God, 213–214)

Anger at God Is Always Sin

Once we’ve learned and embraced this pervasive biblical truth that God is sovereign over all things, Satan may take a new tactic in his assaults on our faith. The world, the flesh, and the devil may conspire in our suffering to tempt us to be angry at God for bringing or permitting pain and loss into our lives. Such anger at God is always sin in us in some form or fashion. It is never right to be angry with God. We never have just cause for blaming him. He is always in the right. In him is light, and no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).
Anger at sin is good (Mark 3:5), but anger at goodness is sin. That is why it is never right to be angry with God. He is always and only good, no matter how strange and painful his ways with us. Anger toward God signifies that he is bad or weak or cruel or foolish. None of those is true, and all of them dishonor him. Therefore, it is never right to be angry at God. When Jonah and Job were angry with God, Jonah received God’s rebuke (Jonah 4:9), and Job repented in dust and ashes (Job 42:6).
. . . [A]s painful as his providence can be, we should trust that he is good, not get angry with him. That would be like getting angry at the surgeon who cuts us. It might be right if the surgeon slips and makes a mistake. But God never slips. (Piper, It Is Never Right to Be Angry with God)
But if we do find, as many Christians have, that we have anger in our hearts toward God, let it be said loud and clear that we should not add the sin of hypocrisy to the sin of being angry at God. Let’s be honest about our sin, confess it as such, and not rally others to celebrate it. We should ever cultivate or seek to stir up anger with God in ourselves or in anyone else. Anger can be righteous, but anger with God is never righteous. Our anger with God always betrays some fault in us, never in him.

Let’s Help Each Other

Such simple and complex truths play out week in and week out in our local churches and Christian communities. Let’s call each other to be the kind of people who both model and encourage right thinking and right feeling about God in our suffering. It is always sin to be angry with him, and he is never to blame in our pain. He “cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” Let’s never encourage people to be angry with God.
And let’s also seek to be people who extend ample grace to those who are in the throes of suffering. Christians do get angry with God. Often we will hear words for the wind (Job 6:26), as people who are hurting say things in their pain they don’t really mean deep down and won’t really hold to long term.
When people are angry with God, those of us who love the “big God” verses and know the nuances of his word should be the safest place to come and be honest.

David Mathis (website: DesiringGod.org)

View all articles by David Mathis

David Mathis is Executive Editor of DesiringGod.org.

Remember This When You’re Tired of People

July 10, 2017

by John McGee
Have you ever been tired of people? Have you ever looked down on your Caller ID and let out a soft groan when you saw who it was? You know you’re supposed to be kind, compassionate, and helpful, but sometimes, instead of seeing people as a blessing to engage with, you see them as a hassle to avoid. Let’s be honest, sometimes it’s hard.
I’ve never met a pastor that hasn’t had these thoughts at some point – including myself. Recently when I’ve had moments when I didn’t want to engage as I should, I’ve tried to remember something that made a huge difference.
What is this powerful reminder? It’s this – every person I come in contact with is someone’s son or daughter. I know how much I love my kids, how much I hope and pray the best for them, and how much I deeply desire that those who come in contact with them will love them as they deserve. It’s been really helpful to imagine that these people have parents who feel the same way about their kids.
I know that if one of your children attended our church you would hope that I wouldn’t view them as a hassle or a number, or engage with them on a mere surface level so that I could check off the pastoral duties. You would hope that I would value them as you do. Candidly, you would be frustrated if you found out I treated them any differently.
When I remember I could be dealing with one of your kids, grandkids, nieces, or nephews it gives me the extra motivation to:
Love them unconditionally. Your kids deserve to be loved regardless of who they are or what they do. They deserve to be loved without any agenda. Perhaps they will contribute, give, and lead at my church – but even if they don’t they deserve to be shown the same relentless love that God shows us.
Point them to truth. I might be tempted to just give your kids my personal opinion. However the best way to love them would be to point them to God’s Word, and then take time to help them develop a love for it.
Be patient. Your kids are not projects to be wrapped up quickly. There will be some seasons that they won’t obey as much as they could or grow as fast as they should. I might be tempted to get frustrated with them and want them to do more and change faster. However, when I remember that these people are your children that you would literally give your life for, it helps me remember how valuable they are and keeps me from being impatient.
Honestly there are times when the email comes in or the phone rings that I don’t feel like loving the person on the other side as I should. But I’ve found that if I remember they are someone’s son or daughter, it motivates me to love, point them to truth, and be patient. I would hate to meet you someday and have to make up excuses about why I was too tired or busy to love your kids.
If you still aren’t moved or aren’t sure this will help you, there is obviously a deeper truth here. Everyone, yes even that person that keeps calling or emailing, was created by God. He not only created them, but He is crazy about them; so much so that He actually died for them. He has done everything He can to show the world how valuable every person is, and every person deserves to be loved, pointed to truth, and shown patience and grace.
The next time your tank seems to be on empty and you’re tempted to not engage with someone, just remember there are parents somewhere that are crazy about them and that you might meet someday. If you still aren’t motivated by the thought of meeting their earthly parents, remember you’ll meet the One Who created and died for them someday.