I Gave God the Finger

Just because. That’s why God loves us.

That can be hard to accept. It means our worth is based on nothing we’ve done. Let’s face it. In most of our relationships, we like each other because the other person is nice to us. But the Lord loves us even when we behave in an unlovable way.

I’ll tell you something I haven’t told too many people. In a wildly frustrated moment, when I wasn’t getting my way, I screamed, “F*ck You, God!” while giving Him the finger. But because God loves unconditionally, He loved me even during that blasphemous tirade.

The flip side of not being able to earn the Lord’s love is that we also can’t lose it. That does not mean we have carte blanche to go on murderous rampages or even gossip sprees. Why would we want to hurt the One who loves us so dearly and unreservedly? When we genuinely have a relationship with the Lord, we’re not inclined to behave in ways that displease Him.

Similar to the “we can’t earn His love” truth is that none of our abilities are our own. Crushing, isn’t it? In high school, I thought my cheerleading skills belonged to me. My toe-touch jumps, splits, and back handsprings were a sight to behold. I was so good that the coaches put me on the varsity team when I was only a freshman. It turns out God gave me that talent. All things were created by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16).

The only thing we can take credit for is accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior. And some argue even that is entirely predestined, a precept of the faith I do not completely subscribe to. I believe we can take credit for being obedient to the Lord, though. But even then, if we pray, “Lord, please help me be obedient to You,” who gets the credit? He does, yes? It’s a prudent idea to give God the glory in all things lest one becomes prideful. After all, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).

Now comes the question of motivation. If we don’t have to do anything to garner the Creator’s love, and if we don’t get credit for what we thought were our achievements, why bother with anything? The heart of the problem is ego. It gets no attention! But God is so gracious and judicious that He takes our unquenchable egos out of the equation of life by giving us unearned love and by rightfully taking credit for our talents and accomplishments. (Knowing that we flawed humans cannot handle the kudos that comes with achievement, God wisely advises us to deflect to Him the praise and glory we receive.)

If we are not to spend our lives in pursuit of ego-satisfying goals, what should we do then? Here’s a plan: let’s look upward glorifying God and outward showing gratitude. Let’s pray, fellowship, spread the Good News, work hard, exercise, learn, give, enrich others’ lives with the gifts He’s given us, and celebrate life every day.

Oh, and let’s love each other–just because.