mad at God

Today we read from Mark 7:1-23 in the One Year Bible. The teachers of the law are eating in the same room with Jesus, and they ask why His disciples don't follow their tradition of washing their hands first. Of course, Jesus is ready with His response, which teaches them about having a true heart to follow Jesus and not just put on a show as a hypocrite.

But if we take a step back from His reply, we see a problem that many face today. The religious leaders were coming to God Himself and asking why He did things the way He did. Not asking to learn, but accusing Him of doing it wrong.

Many of us today get mad at God. We think to ourselves that He's doing it wrong. If He doesn't do what we think He should in a given situation, we are tempted to get mad at Him. And if you feel angry at God, you should definitely tell Him so. He wants you to come to Him with your entire life, and be honest about what you think and feel. So if you're mad at God, then tell Him so. And listen.

But.

If you're mad at God, then you're wrong. I don't mean wrong like evil or sinful. I mean wrong like in error. You've arrived at the wrong conclusion. Your presuppositions are wrong. What you expected Him to do was a faulty expectation. That's why it's wrong to be mad at God - it means you've added 2 plus 2 and gotten 9. You've made a mistake.

So while you should definitely be honest with God if you ever find yourself mad at Him, you should also realize that you're approaching Truth itself with your grievance. You're getting mad at the multiplication table because you can't remember that six times nine is fifty four. So come to Him humbly, and be ready to learn.

God, thank You for patiently teaching us, even when we get mad at You.