Blaming God

By: Karen Lao & Ian Reid

As humans, we are usually reluctant to take responsibility for our mistakes. When something goes wrong – an immediate response is to search, and find the other person who is responsible for the situation. When we cannot place responsibility on somebody else, then the next step – is to blame God. After all, he doesn’t show up to defend himself in person, or send a letter, or even make a statement. Without knowing him, his ways, or his reasons; we make him guilty of our sins.

God is the ultimate power in the universe; however, there is also evil. At its very core, evil is against God; therefore, when evil happens, it is not simply a war against you – it’s a war against God. The evil is not God’s fault: a kind, loving and forgiving God does not cause bad things to happen. However, God allows bad things to happen; to test the individual who is suffering; to punish the offender, so that they will not do that again; and as part of His perfect plan for us.

To blame God for something that has gone wrong is narrow-minded and short sighted. For example, when you were a teenager, your parents might have not allowed you to go to parties, dances, concerts or after-school social activities. At the time you might have blamed them for not allowing you to have fun. Yes, it’s possible that they were to blame; however, the result was that you studied enough hours to get into University or College.

God frequently gets the blame for war. War is fought for land, resources, politics, religion, and, simply – pure hatred of other people. There are many reasons or causes for war, but the essence is almost always – greed. War is not just an actual war, but is frequently, also the threat of a possible war.

God created more than enough land for us and the animals. Human history is full of wars that were caused by people wanting somebody else’s land. The worldwide settlements of the Europeans, as well as other nation’s expansionism are prime examples of this. Had the Europeans run out of land when they did this? No, they simply wanted somebody else’s land. Once they had taken the land, they forced the native people into slavery, or near-slavery. This was not God’s fault; He made us all brothers and sisters.

War or the threat of war is also brought about by resources. In our modern world, where resources are running out, this problem is getting worse each year. Some resources are considered precious, and essential. The problem with these resources is that they frequently occur on someone else’s land, and/or in areas that are not stable.

Diamonds are a prime example; other than for industrial uses, they have no real value. They are simply compressed carbon. The diamond is just barbeque charcoal that is pressed down by heavy rock. We have placed a huge value, on a useless mineral. We are ready to fight for this mineral. God never told us to give it value; therefore, we cannot blame God when this mineral is a source of greed and conflict.

The same is true of Gold. It has industrial uses; but its main value is artificial. Gold is a world recognized symbol of status. Again, the basis of Gold’s valve is greed. Like diamonds, Gold is mostly located in the politically unstable regions of the world.

The best example of the idea of greed is oil. Wars are fought over oil, and God is pulled into the dispute. We have decided to build a society dependent on the car and oil. People no longer live within walking distance of their work, schools, and shopping – they drive. A vacation is not simply to a local area, it is frequently and increasingly to spot thousands of miles away. A car can get you from point A to point B, with you wrapped up in 2000 pounds of metal. Public transportation can do the same for a fraction of the cost. A large car, pick-up, or SUV is purely about status. We cannot blame God for the wars fought over oil; it is we that are demanding the oil to fuel our wasteful lifestyle. There are alternatives to oil, and yet they are not being used, due to the greed of the oil companies as well as other interested parties. Blame does stop there.

Of all the things that God gets blamed for – starvation is the most common. The individual might want to know, If God really loves the world, then why does he cause starvation to happen?

God does not cause starvation to happen. There is enough food to feed the whole world. The industrialized countries are obese, with the trend increasing each year, whilst the third world starves. Each day, we convert more valuable agricultural land into industrial or residential use. Further, we take land that is suitable to grow grain, and convert it for land to grow beef. To offset the decrease in useable land, we have to grow more and better crops each year on the same land; this involves the use of pesticides. The insects rapidly become immune to the pesticides, they then increase in numbers and bring destruction to the crops.

In the third world, farmers used to grow “staple” crops. These are foods grown to use by the farmer and his family. Any extra food is sold locally. In the modern world economy, third world farmers are increasingly being forced to grow “cash” crops. These are crops that are grown to be sold. They are such items as coffee, tea, and tobacco. Typically, they are bought from the farmer and sold overseas, with the farmer earning a tiny fraction of the final profit. These products cannot be eaten, and they are not necessities; they only increase world starvation by taking good, food-growing land out of production.

Food that is no longer grown and consumed locally is then transported to the fattest regions of the world. Massive-scale corruption in the third-world also stops much of the Food from arriving to its destination.

Spoilage is also a worldwide problem. Rats and other pests are responsible for the loss of up to 10% of the world’s food.

In terms of health, when a family member is horribly sick, or dies early in life we tend to blame God. This is wrong. If we have abused our bodies for many years, then we must take responsibility for our own health, and not expect God to work a miracle. We can start by getting more exercise, not smoking, dealing with anger, resentment and other issues, and eating correctly. God tells us that our bodies are his home; therefore, we must treat our bodies with respect.

If, on the other hand, we are victims of poor genetics or environment – then we must realize that: Along with God, there is also evil in this world! It’s evil that causes your sickness and death – not God. God never promised you that he would keep you free from sickness and suffering; on the contrary, sickness and suffering seem essential to God’s plan. Look at Jesus for example. He suffered worse than anyone in history – yet, he never blamed God.

What God does promise you however; is the strength, guidance, and wisdom to deal with, and eventually overcome your suffering. Sometimes, you only defeat your suffering, through death.

Once you are dead, you immediately go to heaven. That’s where life really starts. Once you’re there – where there’s peace, happiness, understanding, and rest – you won’t be blaming God. It’s all about faith.

There are occasions where we put a great deal of effort into something, and get less out of it. This can happen; however, we usually get out, what we deserve. If you study enough, and properly, then you’ll probably get into university or college. If you eat correctly and exercise, then you will most likely keep good health.

If you are positive, not selfish, take interest in other people and are not a shallow person; then you will probably have friends. It’s up to you to join a church group if you’re lonely. Don’t blame God; it maybe, you that has to change.

Many Christians blame God, because he didn’t “answer” their prayer. Consider these things. Did you pray for something that God wants you to have? Did you by try to bargain with God? Did you give God a deadline? Very important: Did you keep quiet and listen to God, before you prayed? Did you trust God enough to understand that you might not get what you want; however, you will get what is best for you? You cannot blame God because you don’t’ get what you want.

To blame God is to not trust God. He works on an eternal plan. You are a part of that plan, but not – the entire plan. When something bad happens to you, it is just a small piece in a bigger program. If you are suffering, it could be that God is making you suffer, to test how those around are reacting to your suffering. The homeless person may be out there on the street begging, to see what we do about it.

There are of course many situations that have no human answer; like a baby drowning, or a death in a car accident. To blame God seems reasonable to many, but to trust Him is the point where the agony will then to everlasting good.

The problem with blaming God is that it runs counter to sound logic. When things go wrong, then it’s easy to blame God; however, when things go right, we should also blame God. We like to take the credit from our education, career, and marriage; however it is God, not us that must have the credit. Blame works both ways.

At some point we will all die. Following this we will stand before God on Judgment day. We will have to explain every act, every thought and every word that we ever said. We will have to explain to God why we blamed Him and why we doubted Him.

God created us. He sees all, and He knows all. He is everywhere and in everything. God knows that we hurt and are sad; moreover, He knows that we are weak and that we doubt Him. Thankfully, he makes allowances for us because He knows that we are humans, He doesn’t expect perfection; He wants us to try our best.

There are ways to battle doubt and weakness. Pray to God for strength and insight; take control of your life though trust in God, patience and action, and simply believe that God loves you.

Say to God, I don’t blame you God. I know that you allowed this to happen, I don’t understand why; but I know that it is for the best. By not blaming God, you trust Him. This allows God to do his perfect work in your life.

Try to recognize that there is evil in this world. To fight evil you should do good work. If you don’t’ get the job that you want, don’t’ blame God; volunteer a while until your get a job. Let others benefit from your hurt. If you don’t get into University; again, don’t blame God, work a year, and give some of your time and pay to the poor. If that relationship with the girl that you thought that you loved doesn’t succeed, then spend some time teaching reading skills to some poor kids or some new immigrants. Try to redirect the hurt out from you. Ask God to get you busy.

In the Bible, there is the book of Job. Job was a man that suffered terribly, yet when his wife told him to curse (swear) at God; he refused. He said, “Shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil” (Job 2:10B - KJV). By saying this, Job was saying that he did not blame God for his suffering, but that he accepted it as part of God’s plan. Later, job was given great happiness.

In conclusion, remember God knows that you suffer, and He hurts because you hurt. Remember also that there is a reason that you suffer. In the short term, which can be many years, it must hurt like crazy. In the long term, which is forever, the hurt will have no meaning – only the result will survive.

God’s plan for us all, works best if we trust God and not blame him. To blame him, is to say to God that, You could have managed the situation better.

To question God about why? - Something happened, is natural. There are several examples of this in the Bible. The key here is submission to God. You can ask him why? And He might give you an answer. Whether He gives you an answer or not, you must accept God’s decision for your life. This is Submission. God’s answer to your blame is located in Job 38:1 (NIV), where God says “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?” God is asking who disputes God’s wisdom by blaming Him. God says that this person is without knowledge. God goes on to ask: Were you there when I made the world? Or the sea? Or the clouds? Were you there when I created the first dawn? Or have you ever walked on the bottom of the ocean? Or has death been explained to you? Can you move the starts? Or can you call the cloud and make them rain? Can you feed the baby bird? Is it you that gives the horse his power? God’s point is that, because we cannot do any of these things, then we have no right to blame God, or tell Him what to do.

A wise person knows to accept God’s plan, without complaining and blaming God. Pray for the courage to do this.

Our wish is that God will bless you.

Written at Parkway Mall’s Library - Maryvale