Is "tribalism" ok or racist?

We are most comfortable with those who are most like us. 

Why?

Because we are more affirmed and feel safer (more comfortable) around those like us. It is common ("natural or normal") for everyone to feel this way. It is not unique to any one group. 

Why?

It takes a lot more self-denial and sacrifice to relate to those who do not have the same values and interests as we do. If we are to have any interaction with others that we have nothing in common with or are least like us, our focus and energy must be on them and less on our interests and needs. ¹This kind of interaction is more about giving than getting. It requires less effort and sacrifice to interact with those most like us.

For the above reasons, being with those most like us tends to energize us. Being with those least like us tends to drain us. If we are not full of love, loving others different from us is impossible to maintain ⁷long-term. 

For the same reasons, harmony is more pleasant and enjoyable than disharmony. We are naturally drawn to harmony. Harmonious relationships tend to energize us. Those that drain us tend to be challenging with more conflict.

There is also a practical benefit of working with those who are most like us. When we are in a joint effort, uniformity can result in greater cooperation and efficiency. This is good, not bad.

Some accuse others of racism for having these sentiments and being naturally drawn to those most like themselves. Yet, if we are honest, this is common with all groups. 

Is this ⁵racist? If so, every last one of us - regardless of our ethnicity - is a racist. Hanging out with others for the above reasons is common to everyone. 

Some call this ²tribalism. But is tribalism racism? It is no different from when you and I prefer being with loving friends or family ("our tribe") rather than with a group of strangers.

Having ³these sentiments is common in all relationships and "groups." The very act of accusing someone else of being guilty of this - as if they aren't themselves guilty - is exercising the same attitude by this accusation.  

This is why a loving family is so valuable (if we are blessed enough to have one). A healthy, loving family is a place where we are best known for both our strengths and flaws, and still most accepted and embraced. It is usually where we feel most free to be our real selves, with the least concern about ridicule or rejection.

Racism, on the other hand, is very different. It is an attitude of superiority based on one's ethnicity (group/"tribe"). It is believing we - our "group" - are better, ⁶objectively, more important or valuable than others. This may be true subjectively - i.e. more valuable to us - but not objectively.

But isn't this also true of friendships? No one considers having friends racist. Good friends are good, important, and valuable to us personally. They encourage and strengthen us. That is a good thing, is it not?

While close relationships may be more important to us subjectively, they are not necessarily so objectively.

It is not wrong to love those who are ¹different from us. It is what we are called to do. In fact, as followers of Christ, we are called to love those opposed to us, i.e., our enemies. It just takes the most energy of all interactions and ⁴directly the least immediately rewarding - but potentially the most rewarding indirectly. 

To be able to love those least like us is not natural but ¹supernatural. For this reason, it is good to love others who are different from us. It requires greater dependence on God to love sacrificially. 

In fact, it is impossible to love sacrificially until we experience the sacrificial love of God offered to us in and through Christ. 

God calls us to this because this is how He loves us...

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. " - Matt 5:43-48

But again, is it wrong to gravitate to others we are most like and have the most in common with? This is actually the basis for friendship. No one would suggest friendship is wrong. Yet some would have us believe it is and call it ⁵"tribalism" - which is the "first cousin" to racism according to those who throw these derogatory labels around.  

The irony is it is usually actual racists that push the narrative that being drawn to others most like us is wrong when, in fact, everyone participates in friendship and considers it not only perfectly normal but healthy.  

We are all far more alike than different.

One thing we all have in common that unites us at the strongest and most basic level is we all desire to be loved, valued, affirmed, and important, i.e., we are designed for love because we are designed to be in relationship with God, who is love. We are all like God, who continuously gives and receives love among the Father, Son, and Spirit. We are in His image.  

And what is God like? The most valuable person of all. Without Him, nothing else exists. We are valuable by virtue of being like God - i.e., in His image.

In summary, it is not wrong or racist to feel more comfortable around those who are more like us. Nevertheless, we are called to a higher standard and to reach out and love those who are least like us, even our enemies. Not loving those different from us is not racist. Unloving, yes. Racist, no. 

For a discussion on identity politics Click here

For a discussion on the joys and challenges of giving, click here. 

To see if God has anything to say about immigrants or immigration, click here.

For a discussion on values, culture, and racism, click here.

For a discussion on racism and the necessity of forgiveness, click here

For a discussion on what divides us, click here.

For a discussion of the harmful nature of identity politics, click here.

What is the nature of racial privilege? Click here for a discussion.

___________________________________ 

Footnotes:

¹People who are culturally different from us can have one main thing in common with us. A relationship with God through Christ. This connection is stronger than any natural ties we may have with those most like us culturally, intellectually, in appearance, etc. This is the most significant and deepest common denominator we can have. Especially those least like us naturally. What lovers of Christ have in common is even more significant than the connection among a loving family - though very much like it in important ways. 

If we have this deep spiritual connection with God, we are dealing with others who are focused on giving and not getting. This is the strongest possible bond we can have with anyone, even immediate family who do not have a love relationship with Christ. True believers are people who seek to love their neighbors as they love themselves. This is the greatest and most unifying value of all. This is also why Christ called these the greatest commandments.

When this is the central focus of a group of people, it is the strongest point of unity and overrides all other differences. In fact, it allows us to enjoy the differences of others as their uniqueness is a reflection of the creativity of God.

This is why a strong church can be filled with a diversity of cultures yet still be united under this most central point of unity. A relationship of receiving love from our Creator and loving Him in return and our neighbor as we love ourselves. This is greater than any differences and can override them all when we are governed by love.

The two greatest commandments are the greatest not simply because we are told they are but because they summarize the purpose of our existence and the very nature of God and His creatures, i.e., to love as we are loved.

Anything we place a higher value on over our relationship with the Creator is a form of idolatry. Nothing is more valuable than God. Not our culture, race, vocation, or even our family.

This is why churches segregated by race or culture - e.g., white, black, Hispanic, Jewish, etc. - are likely not as honoring to God. To be segregated in this way is to value our culture and personal preferences over loving and valuing God and our neighbor. 

If we are separated by a language barrier, that is a separate issue that can be addressed on a church-to-church basis. But outside of this...

 "...in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise." - Gal 3:26-29

²Some subcultures are so strong they have their very own "lingo."  Some examples would be the hip-hop world, the technology world, the academic world, the world of sports, the medical or health world, etc.  These are subcultures within a culture. 

³Having common values is so important that if we do not, it can even lead to husbands and wives separating. We call it "incompatibility" when, in fact, it is actually a matter of love, or the lack of it. 

⁴By directly, I mean we rarely gain any direct benefit from those we seek to love who are different from us. The benefit we may gain, however, is from seeing others blessed by our efforts to love them. It is an indirect gain. This is not something that comes from them, but comes as a result of loving others as Christ loves, i.e., seeing them flourish because of our efforts. This is what God is like. We are acting like God when we love in this way.  

⁵There can be a problem with tribalism, but it isn't racism as some assert. The problem is it is basically about me, my needs, my wants. So in that sense it is wrong and contrary to our initial design, not because it's racist. 

This focus on self is the result of our rebellion against God and our failed attempt to be our own God. Based on the current condition of the world, it is clear we have failed miserably at being our own gods.

Everything is a mess because of our rebellion. We are now missing the love we once had in a relationship with God, caused by our disconnect from God, the very Source of love. Now we go about trying to fill that void caused by His absence through created things and our own efforts to obtain them.

The fact is we weren't designed to be our own god and to make life work without the only true God. We were designed to be in union with Him. The source of love, life, and all things, and experiencing a constant flow of love from Him. This enables us to pass love (Him) on to others. 

We are not an endless spring of love. Only God is. We, on the other hand, are vessels or conduits that can hold and pass on the flow of love from God to and through us to others.

The main point about tribalism is it's not unique to a certain race but common among all humanity, for we have all rebelled from God. But this is not racism as is asserted by some. It is the broken condition of all humanity -  including you and I - not a particular group or race.

⁶ VS subjectively, where someone or some group can be more valuable to us personally.

⁷ Unless or until we find out that all humanity has far more in common at the most fundamental level of who we are as bearers of God's image, i.e., we are all designed by God to love and be loved by Him and to pass on that love to others. This is God's greatest desire i.e. will, directive, commandment etc.

Disconnected from the Source of all things

We suffer because we, along with all of humanity, are ¹disconnected from our Creator; the Source of life, love, and all things. As a result we no longer function as we were designed to. In a word we are ¹broken.

We also suffer because the rest of the created order is in bondage because of our choosing to turn away from God. 

Therefore we experience both internal and external turmoil and suffering. 

Our rebellious distrust of God is the core reason for all ²pain, suffering, corruption, and death.

God did not (and does not) cause evil or suffering. It is the absence of God the causes suffering. Pain is the organic result of our choosing to reject and walk away from Him; to live independent of Him and attempt to make life work without the Source of life, love, and all things. 

If you turn off the light switch (or unscrew the lightbulb), the light goes out. The one who made the light switch isn't the problem; the one who doesn't use the device as designed is.  

However, God uses the resulting pain of our disconnection to reveal to us that He is the ultimate Source of love, life, and all things. Pain itself is not good. But God uses it for good by showing us our need for Him who is not only good but best. He is best because He is the Source life. We were created to experience our highest good in and through a relationship with him, not by surrounding ourselves with creature comforts.

Pain does not have the last word regarding suffering and evil; God does.

How does God use evil for good?

 

Suffering can reveal to us how life does not work (as intended) without Him, so we might be drawn back into a loving relationship with him i.e. learn how to flip the light switch on or screw in the light bulb.

He does not (and did not) cause evil itself but he does use it. It becomes a tool to turn us back to Himself and shape us, making us a more perfect bearer (reflector) of His image i.e. He uses it to make us more like His Son who is the perfect reflector of God so we too might also reflect Him in the same way.

God is greater than evil (suffering). Evil doesn't win, God does even in and through evil. 

¹For a further discussion on being broken click here.

___________________________________

Footnotes:

¹We are not completely disconnected objectively. In Him we live, move, and have our being. Without Him we (or anything else) would not be.

But we are disconnected subjectively, consciously, willfully (by our choice), and personally.

²Pain is the ³loss (or absence) of the good things God has created that we use to ease or mask our pain. Pain is a reminder to turn back to God, our ultimate good, and no longer turn to the good things we use for self comfort. 

Nothing is wrong with creation in itself. It is the misuse of it that is our problem. Creation is not the Source, but only the means by which God seeks to convey his love and goodness.  

The reason created things don't work long term - meet our deepest need - is our need is permanent not temporary - we are designed for infinite love (God's love) not temporary comfort. Created things are temporary. They do not have life in themselves but are sustained by Christ. "... And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together"

³For an extended discussion of this last point, click here. 

Free will or free choice?

While our choices are ¹free and 100% ours (i.e. we freely choose to do what we want), our ³wills are not. Our wills are tied to our desires. 

To say it another way, our "chooser" is not broken but our "wanter" is.

²And our wants (desires) dictate what we ¹choose to pursue. 

If we desire (want) the wrong things we choose to pursue the wrong things. 

And our desires are tied to what we value. The more we value something, the more we desire it and the harder we pursue it. 

And we value only what we ⁴see as valuable. 

If ⁴we are blind to seeing God's true value, worth, beauty, wisdom, glory, majesty, and power as our infinite loving Creator - i.e. the Source of life, love, and all things - we will never pursue Him as the infinitely valuable and significant being that He is. We will desire and pursue created things and beings instead. 

(For a further discussion on our ability to see things as they truly are, click here.)

Why? ⁵We are like God and created to enjoy (delight in) Him who is most valuable, beautiful, wise, glorious, majestic, and loving. Absent a personal relationship with Him, we go after His creation (the next best thing) to fill the void of His absence. Particularly other bearers of His image (you and I) who, by design, are most like God and have the greatest capacity to love and reflect Him most when in union with Him through Christ.

And what is truly valuable is experienced by faith more than pleasant circumstances. 

"...without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." - Heb 11:6

For a further discussion on the importance and necessity of faith, click here.

So do we have any evidence that God is trustworthy outside of - or inspite of - our circumstances? Yes, Christ himself and what he went through to restore us to the Father. If this was the only evidence to prove God's love to and for us, it is more than sufficient. No other evidence is necessary.

God's glory is our glory.

Scripture tells us God is infinitely valuable (glorious) but what about our value and our feeling significant or important? Are we valuable? Does it matter? If so, why?

Because God is significant, important, and valuable, we are and must be like Him in this same way in order for us to be able to appreciate and enjoy these qualities in Him. 

We are told in Jas 4: 

[5] "...Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”"?  

What kind of spirit has God put within us? A spirit that longs (is passionate) for infinite love, worth, and glory. Love that can only be satisfied fully by the Source of love - our Creator; not by creation  including the innate talents and gifts we already possess... such as musical, mechnical, business, artististic, speaking, writing, or intellectional skills etc.  

He will not share in (is jealous over) our pursuit or loyalty to any other "lover" because He knows our greatest joy and satisfaction is ultimately in Him. There is no other true "lover" who can fill this need and desire in us for love; love that He designed to be filled ultimately and only by God who is love. Not because He needs our love but because we need His. This is "the spirit He has made to dwell in us."

Our capacity to value and enjoy Him is unparalleled by any other creature - even celestial beings.

Our being in His image wasn't happenstance. He designed us this way. He is the Creator, we are His creatures...but unlike the rest of creation we are created in His image. Therefore He loves us and desires we experience Him to the maximum extend of His true worth and our capacity as bearers of His image. 

Everything in creation we seek for life outside of God is temporary. Creation is good and has value but it is limited. Therefore it comes up short of filling our need for and sense of value-worth (glory). God gives us creation as a means of revealing Himself to us and as evidence of His infinite love for us. But it was never meant to be our god i.e. that which we worship and pursue.

GOD alone is the Source of infinite love. To experience His love to the maximum extent of our capacity, we must give Him all our loyalty and faithfulness (i.e. have no other "gods" before Him). Otherwise we will never experience His love as it truly is and as we were designed to, but instead we will pursue created things for love, meaning, and purpose outside of and instead of Him. We can not worship both God and mammon.

Where does this need/desire for significance (glory) come from? Click here. 

Why was there a forbidden tree in the garden? Click here.

For a discussion on the necessity of choice click here.

For a further discussion on how our "wanter" is broken and not our "chooser" click here. 

For a further discussion on how our choices are effected by our ability to see, click here.

For a discussion on ability vs responsibility click here

____________________ 

Footnotes:

¹And our choices are ours alone. No one else's, including God. Therefore we are fully accountable for what we value and chose to pursue. 

²Note the progression of the "ands" above. Each deals with a significant shift, but also a vital connection to the previous and following "and" statement. To get to the 2nd "and" you must acknowledge the 1st. And to get to the 3rd we must recognize the 2nd etc. 

*our wants-desires dictate what we ¹choose to pursue. 

*our desires-wants are tied to what we value

*we value only what we ⁴see as valuable. 

*our partaking of and participation in His love is primarily by faith

³Is God free to do whatever he wants? 100%!  But because God is holy He only wants (desires-wills) what is good and best and freely choses righteousness i.e. His character or nature dictates His will/desires, as does ours.

 For a fuller discussion click here.

⁴To see truly, the Spirit of God must reside in us. And that only occurs after we've been "born again" i.e. after we are spiritually regenerated. 

"Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again (1st) he cannot see the kingdom of God.” " John 3:30

Before we are born again we are blind to spiritual things - i.e. things pertaining to God's kingdom. The Bible says we are dead to God. Last I checked dead people don't see very well 😉! 

⁵Why does our feeling and desire for significance, importance, and value matter? 

We are like God who is significant, important, or valuable. We must be like Him so we can appreciate and enjoy these qualities in Him. Those persons or beings most like God are most able to appreciate and enjoy Him as He is.

God's  significance, importance, and value (glory) are the foundation for (and Source of) ours. Our recognizing this about God is essential to experiencing our own true value (glory). The more we see his glory the more we experience our glory in and through Him. 

Suffering... has God abandon us?

"Thus says the Lord: 

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength (whether that be trust in another or in oneself) , whose heart turns away from the Lord. ("...who by their ⁴unrighteousness suppresses the truth..." - Rom 1:18) 

He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. 

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 

He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” 

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? - Jer 17:5-9 ESV i.e. how subtly and deeply our distrust of God runs and how quickly we turn away from God - where our trust should be and needs to be - and place our trust in something other than God, 

Why do pain and suffering remain? 

Pain and suffering are the natural (organic) results of our ongoing disconnect from God. 

Our disconnect is due to our ongoing distrust of Him. 

God does not curse us. Our disconnection from God is our curse.

Pain is the fruit of our distrust which God uses to reveal and expose the depth of our rebellious distrust. 

Why does suffering remain? So we might more clearly and fully see the destructiveness of our distrust and the need to have it purged from our hearts and lives. 

Why? So we might turn back to God and find true life in Him and more fully partake of His love as He designed us to. 

We come into this world in a state of rebellious distrust. We are absent our original connection/union with ¹God we were designed for. God seeks to restore this connection we broke when we turned away so we might return and be restored to a relationship with Him again.

God is love and therefore life itself - and we are in His image, i.e., created to receive and give love. His absence - due to our rebellious distrust - creates an emptiness we desperately seek to fill. 

Because of our rebellious distrust of God we seek to fill His absence with anything other than Him who alone can fill us. We look to anything we have access to or can "get our hands on" to fill the void of God's absence. In short, we trust in ourselves to fill the void instead of God  - "...we make flesh our strength..." 

Pain is such a common part of life that we rarely consider it exists because of ²God's absence, much less because of our rebellious distrust of Him. So we trudge along, clinging to our current rebellion in painful emptiness, desperately trying to make the best of things without God. 

We rarely consider how deeply we distrust God and how this impacts everything we do. ³We refuse to see that we - and everything else - depends on the Creator for its very existence. 

Suggesting this is our true condition is mocked and ridiculed. Accepting this is fiercely resisted and denied individually and collectively. The world system is build on distrust in God and living independently from Him i.e. making life work without Him; trying to prove God is not necessary for true life.

Occasionally, our pain and suffering become so acute and our ability to handle it so inadequate that we see and finally acknowledge our true condition and turn back to Him in total trust. This is how "desperately wicked" our heart and true condition is.

Life is an ongoing journey through the wilderness of this broken world to test whether we will continue to choose rebellious independence from God - as Adam and Eve did - or unconditional trust in God - as Christ did and displayed while on earth. 

Does suffering mean that God has abandoned us? Quite the opposite.

Suffering exists so that we might recognize we are not created to be our own God and return to Him -- who is Love itself and the Source of life, and all things -- in trust and humility. Our struggles are the means by which we learn to grow deep roots into Him. But only if and when we trust Him. 

Every time we experience the loss of something we look to for life - whether that be wealth, fame, natural gifts or talents, our health, a loved one, through substance abuse, etc. - it's an opportunity for us to turn to Him and discover He alone IS life. 

Christ asked what do we profit if we gain the whole world and loose our very souls. But the opposite is also true. If losing the world results in gaining our souls we profit infinitely as well as eternally. 

The Father sent Christ as proof of His love and His desire to pour it out on you. He did for you what you can not do - trust God without conditions - and offers to credit you with His righteousness. Do you trust Him?

__________________________________

FOOTNOTES: 

¹in whose image we were created 

²if we acknowledge God at all, it is usually to blame Him for our pain instead of acknowledging our rebellious distrust, which results in pain due to His absence. 

³I'm referring to our objective dependence, not a conscious (subjective) dependence. Everything that exists is because God sustains it as well as brought it into existence. This is the objective reality of our world and our existence. Our subjective denial of this is our problem. 

⁴God does not curse us. Our rebellious distrust of Him does. 

What is unrighteousness: ἀδικίᾳ (adikia)? - sometimes translated as wickedness. Where does it come from? It is the outward fruit of our inward rebellious distrust of God that results in... 

wickedness 

Strong's 93: 

Injustice, unrighteousness, hurt. 

From adikos; injustice; morally, wrongfulness.

There are two elements to unrighteousness. The outward manifestation - our conduct - of an inward disposition of distrust. The former is the fruit of the latter. 

All "sinful" conduct - no matter what outward *form it takes - springs forth  from distrust in God. Distrust is the energy, passion, and drive behind bad (unrighteous) actions. At the heart of sinful behavior is distrust - unbelief i.e. distrust of God - unbelief - is the essence of all sinful behavior. 

*they are "...works of the flesh..."

Galatians 5:19-21 ESV

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: 

sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. 

I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

Being takers and God's solution.

What is the solution to being a ¹taker vs a giver - and all the consequences and fallout from this approach to life? Someone else bearing the consequences of a life of taking while also being the perfect (complete) giver, and giving us credit for it - if and when we choose to receive this. 

This results in the just consequences of our taking being borne by another, while at the same time having their life of giving totally credited to us as if we did it, i.e., as if we were the giver. 

Unless we are in union with God, we are all naturally inclined to be takers. To be a total giver is supernatural. It is Godlike. 

We are created to be in union with the Source of life, love, and all things. He is the ultimate giver. Yet being separated from Him makes us all takers because we are not plugged into God who is love and life.  

Why? Because of the void in us as a result of our rejecting the Source of all good things as our ultimate Provider and Sustainer. 

This results in us not being able to give as we were originally created to. Being absent a connection and relationship with the Source of life, love, and all things, is like being a well-decorated Christmas tree sitting in a dark room unplugged. 

The acknowledgement of this is the beginning of how we reunite and "plug-in" to the Source and are empowered to be the giver we were originally created to be - not as the Source but as a conduit of the Source. 

Giving to get is not giving to give. Giving to give only occurs by our being plugged into the Source of unlimited resources. Only God is that Source. 

The day we bought into the lie that we could be our own source (god) is the day we cut ourselves off from that Source and died.

_______________________

FOOTNOTES: 

¹To put another's needs before mine is to be a giver. To put my needs before yours is being a taker. This is the opposite of loving our neighbor as ourselves.

Pain, humility, and knowing God

Is there any connection between knowing God, humility, and pain? At first we may not think so. 

Let's take a closer look. 

Since humility is key to knowing, seeing, and experiencing God, we should embrace and receive, with thanks, anything that helps humble us, including and maybe especially pain and suffering.  

Instead of bristling at pain and pursuing ¹anything we can find to distract or relieve us from it, we should embrace struggles and be grateful for them. They are a vital means of drawing us nearer to God. 

Knowing God is far more significant and beneficial than short-term relief from our struggles (though it often doesn't feel that way at the moment). Seeing and knowing this enables us to receive suffering with gratitude.

In short, the reason we are to be thankful for our struggles (vs complaining about them) is they ²can be and usually are a primary means of strengthening our understanding and relationship with God who is the source of life, love, and all things i.e. pain ²can be a very unpleasant means to the greatest and most desirable and pleasant end - our increased union with God and the joy and happiness we find in Him. So while the loss of things we rely on for comfort or pleasure are painful, they become the very means by which we are drawn closer to God, the Source of life, love, and all things. 

Thankfulness is the best indicator of humility. Humility is the key to seeing and knowing God in all His infinite love and glory.

How do we discover God's love in our pain? click here

For a further discussion on the primary role of pain click here

For a further discussion of how God uses evil for our good click here...and here.

The greater the evil the greater the opportunity for healing/

grace click here.

For a discussion on the key lesson from the book of Job, click here.

For a discussion on the value of paradox, click here.

For a discussion on the necessity of humility click here

__________________________ 

Footnotes:

¹drugs, alcohol, and sex are some of the more obvious and most common diversions. But diversions can also be more socially acceptable pursuits, such as recreation, career, entertainment, material possessions, food, power, control, fame, or anything else pleasant that will help distract us or relieve us from pain. Boredom is also a form of low-grade pain. 

This is not because pleasure in itself or those things among creation that bring us pleasure are bad. God created us for pleasure but in, by, and through Him. But when comfort or pleasure in itself (the opposite of pain) becomes a higher pursuit than God, it is contrary to our design of finding our greatest happiness in God and what He provides. 

²Actually pain and struggle is a primary means to our increasing maturity and greater union with God when received with thanksgiving. I say "can" because it depends on us trusting that God is using our pain for our ultimate good (even the pain caused by the failures and offenses of others). Otherwise, suffering will only make us angry and embitter us. 

"See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no 'root of bitterness' springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;" - Heb 12:15. No one likes being around a bitter and angry person - except maybe others who are the same way... "birds of a feather..." as the saying goes.  

It is worth noting that the author of Hebrews was writing to people going through intense persecution and suffering at the hands of others.

Hebrews 12:6-8 ESV

⁶For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” ⁷It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons... 

Hebrews 12:11 ESV

¹¹For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 

Other passages that directly or indirectly address this vital truth... 

James 1:2-4 ESV

²Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, ³for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ⁴And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  

Ephesians 5:20

"...giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,"  

1 Thessalonians 5:18

"Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 

Colossians 3:17

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." 

Philippians 4:6

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." 

This last passage is particularly interesting because we often go to God in prayer for relief from difficulties, yet God says we should give thanks in those very kinds of prayers i.e. don't just seek God for relief, seek God himself and be grateful for everything that aids you in knowing Him better, especially difficulties. 

Romans 8:28-29 

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [29] For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."

The good that God is achieving in all things (vs 28) - both hard and comforting - is making us more like His Son (vs 29), not necessarily improved circumstances.

Trust or isolation?

When we speak of trusting others we are also talking about ⁴faith. We may understand the importance of trust but this also indicates that ¹no one operates without ⁴faith as well. The two are tied together. 

For society to function well, there must be faith (trust). It is essential for people to work well together. Without it we isolate and things come unglued, fragment, and fall apart. We increasingly see this in society as integrity in relationships continues to deteriorate, particularly among those in positions of influence, such as those in government, business, or other leadership rolls.

Relationships of every kind require faith (trust) on many levels. Trust in someone else's knowledge, wisdom, ability, intentions, character, and integrity, etc. 

And confidence (trust) by others in us as well. Trust must go both ways in a healthy relationship. It is constantly either being reinforced or eroded by one's actions. 

Ultimately, at the bottom of it all, there needs to be trust in God. This is the most vital of all. On this, everything else rests and depends.

___________________________________

Footnotes:

¹Some think faith is ⁴unnecessary. They don't need to count on - trust in - others. They can simply count on themselves and operate well alone. 

However, this is also based on faith. Faith that we have or can obtain everything necessary ²to function at the highest level on our own. Others are not necessary.

But we are limited. We don't know everything and don't have unlimited resources or the ability to obtain all that is necessary to reach our maximum potential, no matter how talented we may be or how hard we try. 

By ourselves, we aren't even sure what our highest good is. Is it having unlimited wealth, power, knowledge, influence, popularity, praise, or recognition, as the world often presents? 

What exactly is our highest good and purpose that will give us the greatest sense of purpose, meaning, and happiness in life? 

Only someone with perfect and infinite knowledge would know, and that is not us. 

Who would know and have this understanding better than our Designer, who Created and Sustains of all things i.e. the One who created everything for a specific reason and with a specific purpose in mind? 

If this all-wise and all-powerful being exists, it would be wise to find out why He made us (you) and everything else, would it not? 

²It may be ³safer to function on our own, but do we want to be safe or do we want to flourish and reach our greatest potential? 

God also created us as relational beings. First to have a relationship with Him, but also relationships with others. If so, reaching our highest good without relationships is not possible. 

It is for good reason the Bible says the greatest commandment is to love God with all you have and your neighbors as yourself. Both are about relationships.

It simply is not possible to operate well completely on our own. If you haven't watched the movie "Cast Away" with Tom Hanks, it illustrates this well. 

³In order for betrayal to occur, trust must be violated. If there is no trust, there can be no violation. This is why some refuse to trust anymore. They seek to avoid the pain of betrayal. They are acting out of fear instead of faith (trust) in God. 

But this requires isolation, which has its own set of issues. If we are designed for relationship, we can never be complete on our own.

 

In the long run, isolation prevents us from experiencing life to the fullest extent we are designed for. Those who isolate have decided that a safe life is better than the fullest and best possible life; the life God created us to have. To live a safe life is to also miss out on the greatest riches God offers.

⁴I think there is a slight distinction between trust and faith. We usually consider trust to be something we give someone after they have proven themselves trustworthy through our personal experience with them. Whereas faith may be regarded as more of something "blind," i.e. we trust someone without first-hand experience of their trustworthiness, but more from something we heard someone did in the past to or for someone else. For example, we are told Christ died for us, yet this was over two thousand years ago. We did not witness this event firsthand. But we may be compelled to believe it is trustworthy for various reasons, such as the loving behavior of someone who trusts the claims and actions of Christ, or the confirmation of Christ's claims via the archeological or historical evidence that Christ was and did what we told us he did and said.

Faith is disregarded and considered so taboo by some that they avoid using the word altogether (a carryover from "the age of reason" and our postmodern view of the world, and a disregard for all things spiritual i.e. that which is beyond the material world we can see and touch). So they replace it with words like trust and confidence. But when we peel back the layers, at the bottom of it all is faith in some form. 

While faith might have more to do with belief in something (usually God) and trust with dependence upon something or someone (not necessarily God) they are essentially the same thing i.e. only the object of our faith or trust is different, not necessarily the nature of dependence (trust) itself. 

Which is it... sinners or like God?!

God's love for ⁴us is without conditions. FULL STOP! i.e. to be fully accepted and embraced by God requires nothing from us. God's love for us is based on someone else meeting the requirements, ¹not us. Accepting the offer that Jesus made is the only thing required of us. 

However, that doesn't mean there is not a good reason for His infinite love for us. There is a major reason. He values and therefore loves us because we are like him - in His image. 

This has nothing to do with what we do but with who we are, who God made us to be. It is not our trying to make ourselves more acceptable and lovable to Him or others.

This is why He loved us before we lifted one finger for Him. In fact, even while we were still in our state of rebellious distrust of Him.

"...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us..." - Romans 5:8

"...But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—..." -  Ephesians 2:4-5 

Have you ever scratched your head, wondering why he would value and love us while we were still in a state of rebellious distrust toward Him (i.e. "sin")? It is because our rebellion did not cancel out or erase our being like God, it only marred and suppressed it - though severely. 

This resulted in our spiritual sight and sense going completely dormant (until His Spirit opens our eyes). We are now "unplugged" from God (the source of all things), broken, and blind to seeing His infinite worth, beauty, and love. As a result, we ascribe the worst possible intent by God on why we struggle or experience loss and pain. The Bible describes this as being spiritually blind and dead to God. 

But our capacity for love, light, and life didn't go away and is still fully intact - we are still like God - even when we don't trust Him i.e. we still are designed to love and be loved, and we long for this. We are hard-wired for love, if you will, because God is love and we are like Him, created to be in a community of love with Him. 

God values and loves our being like Him because we still have the capacity to fully partake of the community of love that God is as Father and Son in, by, and through the Spirit. 

This capacity for infinite love never went away after we turned away from Him in the garden; it only ceased to function properly i.e. it went dormant if you will. In our broken and spiritually blind condition, we now long for the wrong things - instead of the only true thing that can fill our longing for love - because we are blind to the true Source of love and life - i.e. our Creator.

A recap and summary 

Our being in God's image is vital to how God sees us and who we are. This means there is a good reason for Him to love us i.e. because of who we are, not what we do. 

We are not just rebellious - aka "dirty rotten sinners." This is true but only half the story - and the far lesser half - once we accept his offer. The more important half is we are also still like God with an infinite capacity to fully engage, delight in, and commune with the Infinite God and experience His infinite love, glory, and joy!!!

Being like God has nothing to do with what we do for others (God and other bearers of His image) - when it comes to establishing a good standing with Him - but has to do with something about us - i.e. who we are, not what we do. 

God's love has nothing to do with something that comes from us or is offered by us - i.e. something we do in an attempt to earn His love or appease His disapproval. 

Our only requirement is to recognize that Christ did everything necessary to fully restore us to His Father and accept this as a free gift (the essence of the gospel - good news - of grace). 

Do you receive this? If you only know this in your head but haven't fully believed it, you only need to recognize He did everything necessary to restore you so He can pour out His love on you. A love He already has for you that you are blocking by not believing this good news. Because nothing you can do will restore you to God...nothing - not your abilities or good deeds!!! 

Accept His offer of complete restoration. If you are sincere in accepting and receiving His offer of perfect love, He will legally and immediately restore you now, and ²completely upon His return.

"The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come.' And let the one who hears say, 'Come.' And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price (you can't buy it or earn His acceptance of you)." - Revelation 22:17 

For God to have a relationship with us in the same way the Father and the Son have with each other, we had to be like him in one essential way i.e., we had to be able to receive and return love to God like God does between and among the Father and Son, in, by, and through the Spirit - i.e., God IS love. Love is the central and essential core of who God is!!! We are like Him i.e., we are hard-wired for this same love. 

But love for God first, not just between each other. Our love for others must flow out of our love for God. This is why the greatest commandment is to love God first, then our neighbors. 

Does God need anything from us? No! He has Himself i.e., He is complete within Himself.

But when we say he loves us without conditions, that is not to say he doesn't have longings and desires for us and from us. He yearns to commune with us. Why? Because we are like God and God is love. He longs for us to experience the fullness of who He is so, like Him, we too experience it.

He is the source of love, life, and all things and knows our greatest meaning, purpose, and joy is found only in Him!! His calling us to love Him above everything else is because He knows He is our best and desires our best i.e. God is love.

James 4:5 says:

"Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, 'He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us' ”?

Nevertheless, His love for us is without conditions i.e. no deeds are required from us in order for His love to be set on us.

This is possible only because Christ fulfilled all the conditions ³required and necessary for him to remove the barrier between us and love us freely and fully. Even to the point that the Father loves us in the very same way He loves His only eternally begotten Son. Jn 17:23.

"I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me."

So does our love and pursuit of God matter since it's not required?

While there should never be ⁴expectations or conditions put on us for the gifts freely given to ⁵us or on others for the gifts we gladly give them, it is legitimate to enjoy and eagerly anticipate the appreciation from others for those gifts.

When gratitude is shown for the gifts we graciously receive, it delights the giver because they know their gift (and love) is not just accepted but also enjoyed and appreciated.

This reminds us of the 10 lepers that Christ healed and only one returned and showed gratitude. As a result, Christ engaged him further because he demonstrated by returning to Christ that he appreciated what Christ did. Lk 17:12-19.

To hope for and enjoy someone else's appreciation for what we give them is different than ⁵demanding their gratitude.

This also happens to be how God loves us and enjoys a relationship with us. God doesn't ⁶demand our obedience in exchange for His love. He delights in it. We are this way because God is this way. We are in his image.

In order for him to have this kind of love relationship with us we had to be like him as much possible without actually being him.

For a further discussion on why God loves rebels but not rebellion click here 

Are we rebels against God? Click here 

For a further discussion on the solution to our rebellion click here. 

For a further discussion on why God delights in our love click here.

_________

¹Who met them? Christ!!! For only He could, not us!

²The claims of Christ and His return!! and Knowing God but not fully yet.

³this is necessary because we fail to. No one fulfills the greatest commandment to love God with everything we are and have. Do you? I certainly don't!

⁴Expectations and conditions come from those who need love. God wants our love but doesn't need it. He is love as a community of love among the Father, Son, and Spirit. And when we are filled with His love we are the same way i.e. we don't need the love of others because we already have the perfect love of God.

⁵Who is "us." Is it humanity in general or us who have trusted Christ? It is both. God values all his image bearers by virtue of them being like him. But only those who accept his offer of restoration actually participate in and experience that love as we are designed to.

⁶We demand things from others only because we believe we must have them in order to be loved. God doesn't because He is already a community of love between the Father and Son in, by, and through the Spirit. He doesn't need us in order to be complete (whole) and therefore does not need to demand our obedience. 

However because He is love he delights in our entering into and participating in his love. He seeks - "requires" - us to love him because he knows that is where we are most complete and find greatest joy.

True obedience

Is obedience merely doing what God says or is there something more to it?

True obedience is as much about intent as it is about action. It isn't about action only, but why we act.

Many are not self-aware enough to know the "why" of their actions. But there are several ways to evaluate our "why." 

Is our "obedience" for our gain and not the gain of others? We need to probe a bit to know.

If we do not pursue God's commandments out of love for him, and a desire to honor him, it is not true obedience but merely performance to impress others. It seeks to gain the approval of God and others by doing good deeds. 

Doing things to impress others is not true obedience, i.e. it is not actions that come out of love for another i.e. for another's gain or benefit - but action for our gain. 

This is action to get something for myself, not action to give something of myself.

For example, the Bible says the plowing of the wicked is sin. But how can plowing ever be wrong? It is a wholesome and honorable activity, right?

If we believe we reap the benefits of plowing solely because of our independent efforts and do not recognize God enabled us to plow - i.e He gave us our mind, body, tools, and, skills to plow, plus our time, strength, health, and every resource needed to perform a task, etc. then our plowing only honors us, only takes care of us, and brings praise only to us, not God who enabled us to plow. If He didn't give us minds, hands, breath, and life, there would be no plowing or anything else. In short, we do not understand or acknowledge that God is the provider and giver of everything necessary to perform a task.

In this scenario, only our gain and benefit is the reason we plow - i.e., our "why" - not God's honor or acting out of love for Him. 

Therefore, it is an act of arrogance, i.e., rebellious independence from and distrust in God. It is an attempt to gain for ourselves what can only legitimately and truly be accomplished because of God's generous provisions needed to perform a task. 

This may seem severe on the surface, since we may not think of God at all. But that is exactly the problem. We do not recognize that all we are and have - our very life and breath - is a gift from God. 

We assume conduct is good merely by the external action. However, God looks at our heart and the intent behind our actions i.e. is it for self-care and bringing praise to me or is it to honor God (bring attention to God, not us) out of love for Him because He honored us by sending Christ to restore us to a right relationship with Him.

For a further discussion of what a good deed is click here.