Oh God!
Er yes? Can I help?
Oh you again... no, I was just feeling annoyed.
So you decided to vent your anger?
Yes.
And "Oh God" is your way of expressing frustration?
I'm ashamed to say it is.
Why?
What what?
Why are you ashamed to say it?
Well it's wrong, isn't it.
Wrong?
Well obviously it's wrong. It's hardly God's fault that I'm angry.
Depends on your God.
What do you mean?
Well, if your God is a trickster and likes to annoy or upset you - is the root cause of your annoyance - then no - it would be perfectly rational and reasonable to blame God.
But that's not how I see God.
You sure?
Yes - God is good and kind, merciful and compassionate. God is all love.
Ok - that's the official version, but in reality, if it's "Oh God" everytime something bad happens, then like it or not, you're making a kind of Freudian slip, admitting that God has dumped you in doo doo, and left you out of your depth, in an untenable situation.
Oh dear - I see what you mean. That makes me feel even worse.
Why so?
Because how could I blame God?
Maybe you should stop blaming yourself and that would make it easier to stop blaming God.
What's the connection?
A deep connection - you and God were never as far apart as you might like to imagine.
But I love the idea of being close to God.
Yes, the "idea", but how about the reality of being close or even one with God.
One with God - that sounds a bit over the top. I mean - God is God.
And you're not?
No - I'm just me - and I turn to God when I'm out of my depth.
To secretly blame him for letting you get out of your depth.
Well yes - apparently so - but that's my mistake. I don't want to blame anyone for my failings.
Wait a second - if you're really out of your depth then let's assume that it's as much God's fault as yours.
No, wait a minute - that's absurd. God is blameless.
By definition - but it all depends which God you're dealing with.
The one and only God. Emmanuel. The Lord Jesus. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jehovah. That one.
Well, already that's several different versions - even if they're all trying to describe the same thing.
I object. The names may differ but that doesn't mean there are different Gods.
True. And yet different names indicate that God is big - like a mountain - and approaching it from one side is not the same as approaching from another. The vegetation, the slope, the climate, everything can be different.
But what's all this leading to. You're not telling me anything I don't already know.
Know your God.
I thought it was "know yourself."
It was, but now I say "know your God".
But why?
Because you need to know what you're dealing with. You may assume you're praying to God - but if in your moments of stress and frustration you find yourself indirectly blaming God - it means that your idea of God is a capricious deity that deliberately messes up your life. If that's your idea of God - then that's the God you are currently dealing with, regardless of what you may like to imagine. You'll probably find yourself trying to assuage his anger. Trying to win him to your side, but it's all coming from the position of God the unloving - and no amount of prayer is going to alter that.
So what am I meant to do?
Be honest. If you're currently working with a malevolent or capricious deity, then you might wish to consider ending that connection and getting back to the fundamentals.
Er...
You might consider an alternative.
To God?
To resentment, blame, anger, frustration, fear or hate. None of these are good - and if they are lurking under the surface or behind the God figure you're in the habit of appealing to, consider issuing a cease and desist order and being rid of it.
But I don't want to be rid of God.
Fair enough. You can't be rid of what God truly is even if you tried.
No?
Not if God is life itself, love, truth, light, compassion... these are everywhere and in everything, no matter how well concealed they may appear to be.
So no God - your saying.
Yes - better no God than a bad God. God will always emerge when you're ready for it - when you're ready to start embracing the love, the truth, the light itself with an open heart - to engage them consciously as a living presence.
But that sounds like I'm creating God.
Does it? I think it sounds like finding.
Finding what I lost. So I have to start by admitting I lost God - even though I continue to invoke him.
Yes. You lost him but you didn't want to admit it. So a little honesty is called for. Once you can in all honesty say "dear God - I realise I've lost you. That makes me feel bad - but I haven't lost my love of that which is good - so I know you are still with me though silent and invisible. I pray that some day I'll find you in person."
Oh.
That's all there is to it. Nothing lost, nothing gained.
Er yes? Can I help?
Oh you again... no, I was just feeling annoyed.
So you decided to vent your anger?
Yes.
And "Oh God" is your way of expressing frustration?
I'm ashamed to say it is.
Why?
What what?
Why are you ashamed to say it?
Well it's wrong, isn't it.
Wrong?
Well obviously it's wrong. It's hardly God's fault that I'm angry.
Depends on your God.
What do you mean?
Well, if your God is a trickster and likes to annoy or upset you - is the root cause of your annoyance - then no - it would be perfectly rational and reasonable to blame God.
But that's not how I see God.
You sure?
Yes - God is good and kind, merciful and compassionate. God is all love.
Ok - that's the official version, but in reality, if it's "Oh God" everytime something bad happens, then like it or not, you're making a kind of Freudian slip, admitting that God has dumped you in doo doo, and left you out of your depth, in an untenable situation.
Oh dear - I see what you mean. That makes me feel even worse.
Why so?
Because how could I blame God?
Maybe you should stop blaming yourself and that would make it easier to stop blaming God.
What's the connection?
A deep connection - you and God were never as far apart as you might like to imagine.
But I love the idea of being close to God.
Yes, the "idea", but how about the reality of being close or even one with God.
One with God - that sounds a bit over the top. I mean - God is God.
And you're not?
No - I'm just me - and I turn to God when I'm out of my depth.
To secretly blame him for letting you get out of your depth.
Well yes - apparently so - but that's my mistake. I don't want to blame anyone for my failings.
Wait a second - if you're really out of your depth then let's assume that it's as much God's fault as yours.
No, wait a minute - that's absurd. God is blameless.
By definition - but it all depends which God you're dealing with.
The one and only God. Emmanuel. The Lord Jesus. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jehovah. That one.
Well, already that's several different versions - even if they're all trying to describe the same thing.
I object. The names may differ but that doesn't mean there are different Gods.
True. And yet different names indicate that God is big - like a mountain - and approaching it from one side is not the same as approaching from another. The vegetation, the slope, the climate, everything can be different.
But what's all this leading to. You're not telling me anything I don't already know.
Know your God.
I thought it was "know yourself."
It was, but now I say "know your God".
But why?
Because you need to know what you're dealing with. You may assume you're praying to God - but if in your moments of stress and frustration you find yourself indirectly blaming God - it means that your idea of God is a capricious deity that deliberately messes up your life. If that's your idea of God - then that's the God you are currently dealing with, regardless of what you may like to imagine. You'll probably find yourself trying to assuage his anger. Trying to win him to your side, but it's all coming from the position of God the unloving - and no amount of prayer is going to alter that.
So what am I meant to do?
Be honest. If you're currently working with a malevolent or capricious deity, then you might wish to consider ending that connection and getting back to the fundamentals.
Er...
You might consider an alternative.
To God?
To resentment, blame, anger, frustration, fear or hate. None of these are good - and if they are lurking under the surface or behind the God figure you're in the habit of appealing to, consider issuing a cease and desist order and being rid of it.
But I don't want to be rid of God.
Fair enough. You can't be rid of what God truly is even if you tried.
No?
Not if God is life itself, love, truth, light, compassion... these are everywhere and in everything, no matter how well concealed they may appear to be.
So no God - your saying.
Yes - better no God than a bad God. God will always emerge when you're ready for it - when you're ready to start embracing the love, the truth, the light itself with an open heart - to engage them consciously as a living presence.
But that sounds like I'm creating God.
Does it? I think it sounds like finding.
Finding what I lost. So I have to start by admitting I lost God - even though I continue to invoke him.
Yes. You lost him but you didn't want to admit it. So a little honesty is called for. Once you can in all honesty say "dear God - I realise I've lost you. That makes me feel bad - but I haven't lost my love of that which is good - so I know you are still with me though silent and invisible. I pray that some day I'll find you in person."
Oh.
That's all there is to it. Nothing lost, nothing gained.
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