Do you ever wonder, when two sports teams are vying for victory against one another, and their ardent fans (on both sides) are praying for their side to win, who does God listen to and grant favor? All those cheering for Notre Dame University (for example), and all those cheering for Southern Methodist University, as their teams meet in some athletic contest, hands folded, eyes raised to heaven, cry out to God. The more fervent their loyalty is, the more they petition God to intervene on behalf of their beloved athletes – and for the pride of their school. They make their peace of mind, their wellbeing, their happiness dependent on the outcome of a game. Who is God attending to with blessing, and who does God choose to ignore?
Yes, this is an exaggeration, but our human tendency to curry God’s favor and use God against those who, we believe, oppose us, is very real. We want a god who takes care of us, and who brings about the defeat and disgrace of our enemies – a god who is on our side. Sports team against sports team, party against party, warring nation against warring nation, denomination against denomination, religion against religion, and so it goes. We pray for our side to win, to be right, to be number one. The outcome determines who God really likes – who is good and right and justified.
But what if the outcome, the result, has nothing to do with who God favors, or considers to be good? Jesus describes God, in a most un-partisan way, allowing rain to fall on good and bad alike, the sun to shine on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5: 43-45). Is it possible that God desires, as much as possible, that any and all opposition ends in some kind of win-win situation – that all enemies discover their commonality, and realize the terrible waste of hostility? So much more can come from cooperation for the common good than from ego-driven claims of superiority over others. Whose side is God on? God is on our side – as long as our OUR is big enough to include enemies as well as friends.
Kevin Buckley says:
Oh how prevalent that is in the world we live in. Excellent examples. Who hasn’t looked skyward as the field goal kicker lines up with four seconds to go? How could we even think that such a triviality would sway God’s opinion to one side or the other. So important to look past the things of this earth and see the fullness of God’s love. I, like you, believe that God wants the best for all: he did create us all, after all. Thank you, Tim. Kevin.
a43dcb5_wp says:
It’s even better to look deep into the things of this earth and discover God’s love, like God’s fingerprints, on and through everything.