They say there are no atheists in foxholes. You know the idea. In times of extreme crisis, many people who did not believe in God suddenly turn to Him. "God, I never believed in You before, but if you can get me out of this situation, I'll do all I can to please you." And while it suggests that everyone really does know there's a God (Rom 1:19-20), it really is a problem all on its own.
Most people, I believe, will take this very same approach with God. "As long as you do what I want, I'll do what You want." That's what they are saying, right? I mean, if God does not get them out of the situation they're concerned about, it is assumed they won't do anything for Him, right? A quid pro quo. But if God is God, there's no option for that. If God is the Creator of the universe, the Lord and King, the Sovereign, then the requirement is we're supposed to do whatever He wants. No quid pro quo. No give and take. So even the seemingly godly prayer is actually a rebellion, and that's not a good thing.
I've seen unbelievers and believers alike take this approach. "If God is not what I think He should be, I'll have nothing to do with Him." If He's not the Grand Butler, the Healer-on-Demand, the grace-without-justice God, then they don't want anything to do with Him. Everyone dies, but if my loved one dies, God is right out. So we try to tempt God with "If you'll do what I want" while we retain the "But if not" clause and think we're being godly. Don't think the Lord of Lords is deceived. Don't let that be your approach.
3 comments:
In general, I'd agree with your conclusion. Yet we do see instances in scripture, Gideon, where there does seem to be some sort of quid pro quo or bargaining with YHWH. I suspect that the difference lies in who ultimately benefits from this bargain. If doing what we ask will bring glory to YHWH, then it's more likely that He'll grant our request. I definitely believe that it's not wrong to ask for YHWH to do things, yet we should thank Him and praise Him regardless of the outcome.
Gideon wasn't quid pro quo. He just was testing to see if he heard right. He was prepared to follow instructions as soon as he verified he understood them correctly. It's interesting to see the difference between Zechariah's response to "Your wife is going to bear a child" compared with Mary's response to "You will become pregnant by the Holy Spirit." He said, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." She said, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" God understood Zechariah to be doubting and Mary to be simply asking "How?" And, yes, it is definitely not wrong to ask Him to do things. Jesus taught us to pray that way. I'm only referencing the conditioning of my obedience on His obedient response to my request (demand?).
I agree that the conditional nature of the response is the key.
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