DIY

DIY -- Do It Yourself. It's all the rage. Well, in these tough economic times, it makes sense. I mean, if you can figure out how to do it yourself, it's just less expensive to pay someone else to do it, right? So where does that plan break down? It's when you can't figure out how to do it yourself. So now you're breaking things you were supposed to be fixing and often end up paying far more than what you would have because there's so much more damage.

This works itself out -- hugely magnified -- in one of the most common DIY projects humans of all varieties undertake: The Making of God. Now, we don't really mean to do this. It's just part of the sin nature. You see, if God is who He says He is, then we're in trouble. So it becomes important that we remake Him in our image. I'll point out some of the ways we do this, and you see if you recognize any of them.

Among the skeptics we find many complaints about the God of the Bible. He seems to act outside of what they deem appropriate. I mean, what's all this about ordering the killing Amorites and all that? What's the thing with the bears that killed those boys (2 Kings 2 if you're curious)? "No, no, that's not a good God. God owes His creation something. He owes them peace and well-being. He owes them comfort and health. Bad things shouldn't happen. God should not allow it. He ought to conform to our perceptions of right and wrong, good and bad." And, of course, it turns out that this god doesn't exist, so they feel secure in their argument that there is no God.

Okay, so maybe an example of a God who doesn't exist isn't the best example. How about one that is much more likely? So very popular today is the "God-to-me" God. In this creation, we form an opinion of God based on what we like. We like a God who is nice, so God must be nice. We don't like a God who is angry, so surely God isn't angry. We are particularly fond of our own freedoms, so we much prefer a God who doesn't interfere with our choices. And the longer we retain that particular view, the less He seems to interfere. It used to be that we had the freedom of choice in matters of eternal significance, but understood that in matters of everyday living, we were supposed to choose in favor of what He commands. Not so much these days. God doesn't care anymore if we're sexually immoral, hypocritical, unloving, and so on. As an example, I was visiting a church where they were trying to encourage young people to go on a mission trip for the summer. The pastor asked us to pray for two of the girls whose parents wouldn't let them go. We were later informed that they had managed to raise the money without their parents' help and would be going after all! You see, God certainly doesn't care if we're disobedient to parents, right? That's the God we like. The one that lets us do what we want. So we form God into the image that we like and tag this "God-to-me" addendum onto Him because we realize surely that not everyone likes the same kind of God that we do, and that's okay. So "God to me" is _____, where you fill in the blank with what you like best.

It is the simplest thing in the world to form an image of God that is informed by our own conditions. For instance, we commonly think of God the Father as an old man with white beard and all. He's human, after all, right? Well, no, of course not. But He's very similar. He has to deal with time. He has to deal with frustrations and difficulties. He's often blocked from achieving what He intends, just like we are. Sure, He'd like it if there were not tragedies in life, but, well, you know, it's a harsh world out there. And He'd really love it if everyone were to be saved, but He isn't willing to transgress anyone's free will. Here, take, for instance, the terrible school shootings in the last decades. God wouldn't want that, but what is a God to do? We've kicked Him out of our schools! He's a gentleman, after all, and won't interfere. Why do we think that? Because that's how we are. We face these frustrations and inabilities and we're pretty sure that He does, too.

One of the quickest ways to see this DIY God thing is in the realm of the Theodicy -- the defense of God's justice. "If the God of the Bible is kind and loving and all-powerful and all-knowing, how is it possible that there is evil in the world?" That's the challenge. The answer seems like it would be simple -- go with what the Bible says. But we're not happy with that. That's not the God we want to have around. God must be exonerated from this! So we remake God. We say, for instance, that it's not God's fault, but Adam and Eve's fault. They sinned! Of course, it begs the question of why God would make Adam and Eve knowing they would sin. "No, no," the next ones assure us, "it's Satan's fault!" It's a step away from Adam and Eve, but no closer to a solution. Why God would make Lucifer knowing he would sin? "Well, evil certainly wasn't part of God's plan!" And so we remake God in our image.

These versions and more are much more popular with us humans than the actual God is. We find things that are unpleasant like wrath or judgment or His personal claim that He makes "the wicked for the day of evil" and we say, "No, no, that's not the God we like." And we shape Him into the image we do like. There is a biblical term for it. It's called "idolatry". And the Bible is not in favor of it. Just like the over-sized cost of DIY when you get it wrong, this one will really get you in the end. I'd recommend letting God be God. I'd recommend aligning your own thinking with the God of the Bible rather than the other way around. A Do-It-Yourself God is just not the best option. In fact, it's the most expensive one.