God, The Angry Man In The Sky: The wrong view of God

Lies We Believe

Before giving my life to the Lord, I would have to admit to my own inaccurate view of God. I too, like so many others, regarded God as “The angry man in the sky”. Overtime my own corruptible thoughts coupled with the world’s perception of God had constructed the view I had of Him. Between all the “rules” in the Bible and the thought I would never measure up to what God expected, I saw God as a tyrant who was impossible to please. I believe the enemy uses this very thought to keep people from giving their life to Jesus. I already have a post called “Who is the I AM” that touches on the character of God and His attributes. Make sure you read that post first before continuing this one. 

How We View God

I’m not sure when it started, but somewhere along the line it became popular opinion to view God through the lense the enemy wants us to look through. So lets expose the lies and manipulation the enemy uses to keep people in this mindset. Ultimately, keeping them from seeking the face of God. If the enemy can keep people from viewing God accurately the likelihood of these people ever coming to God is slim. Why would anyone want to seek a God who is likened to a megalomanic who is never happy and impossible to please? This prevents people from asking Christ into their hearts.  

God, The Tyrant

People perceive the instruction delivered to us through God’s word as an impossible rulebook to follow. Even worse, people assume these rules are just put in place in order for God to control us and withhold any enjoyment or pleasure from us. This couldn’t be more erroneous, it’s actually the opposite. God created us, including our emotions. If he didn’t want us to enjoy anything he wouldn’t have equip’d us with the emotional capability to experience joy and peace.

Just as there are laws we have to abide by here in the physical world, there are also spiritual laws put in place by God that every believer should be aware of. These spiritual laws allow there to be order, accountability and consequences. The instruction we receive from God is always for our benefit. The things in which he tells us to abstain from may at times seem frivolous to us, but the truth is the spiritual consequences are very real and can have devastating affects.

So, NO, God is not a tyrant who takes pleasure in bossing us around for his own entertainment. He is being a protective and loving God, trying to keep his children from suffering the repercussions of their own ignorance. 

God, The List Keeper  

None of us are perfect, therefore we will absolutely make mistakes and fudge things up. However, this should not prevent us from maintaining a relationship with God. God is well aware of our imperfections, of our fallen flesh and the corrupt world in which we live in. If we already think of God as an angry man in the sky we would naturally assume his displeasure with us. 

We wrongly assume that God is in the Heavens with a list of all our shortcomings and failures. This is a lie from the pit and authored by Satan himself. Satan wants to take away the one element that makes this lie completely unfounded. Jesus! If the enemy can keep an individual feeling condemned and ashamed, then he already has his grubby hands on their soul. The enemy likes to distort things and leave things out to misrepresent the truth.

The truth is yes, we can never be perfect, but God is already aware of that. Knowing this, in His immeasurable love for us, he sent His Son. Because of Jesus, there is NO LIST. All the things you keep mental tabs of, the same things you think God is marking against you are all the things Jesus wipes clean. There is no list. Every time the feeling of condemnation comes attempting to steer you away from a relationship with God, you need to recognize it for what it is. Remember, conviction and condemnation are two different things. The conviction of the Holy Spirit does not come with guilt and shame as condemnation produces. We need to discern the creeping in of accusations from the enemy. Intended to keep us distant from God. Capture the thought when it comes and counter it with the truth. If you have to yell out loud, “There is NO LIST”. By all means, go for it. I have done my fair share of proclaiming, binding and loosing and rebuking out loud for all the spiritual realm to hear.

A God That Allows Evil

This is probably the most discussed misconception about God. People seem to have difficulty wrapping their head around God and his relation to what we deem to be evil and suffering. You have to approach this topic first with a proper understanding of Gods character. Let’s look at the 3 primary reasons for evil, suffering and death. All of which are the cause and effects of stepping outside of the spiritual laws God has ordained.

• Free Will

You’ve heard about it before, the free will God has given each of us. Free will is a very powerful thing. God allows us to decide whether we will serve him or rebel against him. The first act of rebellion against God through the means of free will in the Bible was the eating of the forbidden fruit. Just like eating the forbidden fruit, rebelling against God brings about consequences. Because we are given free will, we can decide to stay on course with God or to go our own way. In going our own way, we are stepping outside of the protective covering of God. This in turn leads to self destruction, suffering and wickednesses. 

• Sin

The Bible informs us the wages of sin is death, so why then are people surprised when this occurs. It is not God who brings forth the suffering and evil so many non believers wish to blame God for. This evil and suffering are the results of sin and rebellion against God. Is it so astounding, the state our world is in, considering how much of humanity has rebelled against God? People blame God for all the bad in the world when in reality it is us humans that bring forth all the evil through our sin. God is Holy, perfect and righteous, therefore he cannot be the source of such things. Being forgiven for our sins through Jesus wipes the slate clean in the spiritual, however, the consequences of our sin in the physical often remain.

• Legal Rights

Think of legal rights as the certificate of permission a person gives to the enemy and his unclean spirits. When we rebel against God we are handing over our legal rights (granting permission) to the enemy to wreak havoc in our lives. This is a primary source for much of the suffering and evil.

The Truth

Let’s review because I want to make sure this is clearly understood. We have a just and righteous God who is holy, who cannot lie and cannot go back on his word. Likewise, in his immense goodness he has given us free will. This free will allows us to choose whether we want a relationship with Him. He does not force Himself on us, though he desires that all people come to him, he will not breech your free will. 

There are only 2 options, you are either with God or against Him, there are no gray areas. Maybe an inaccurate view of God is what has been holding you back. Don’t allow it to any longer. God is not the angry man in the sky, he is generous far beyond what any of us deserve. He is long suffering with us as we learn and grow, and he gives us plenty of grace and mercy along the way.