What is God Good For

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. - Galatians 4:5:1

One of the things Tiger pointed out in the message yesterday is that a lot of people use God and religion in ways that are unhelpful and unhealthy. For example, they pointed out that in situations around things like addictions, people often use spirituality as a way of guilting themselves into doing what they perceive to be ‘the right thing’ as opposed to asking themselves the harder questions.

The harder questions tend to be something like, “What is this behavior getting you?” Often, the flourishing that we desire in this life is being blocked by our behaviors, but we can’t see that. Instead, we focus on the morality of certain issues and try to shame ourselves into better behavior. What would work so much better is connecting with our deeper desires about what we truly want and going for those things.

One civil rights leaders who was also a pastor and just all around fantastic thinker put it this way:

If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving. If God cannot do this, then it is time we got rid of Him. - James Baldwin

Take some time to really think about what Baldwin is saying (and what Tiger has pointed out). Process what is standing out to you with Jesus.