Raging Against God
“A man's own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD.” (Proverbs 19:3)
I think the writer of this proverb nails all of us with this one. It’s so easy to blame God when we’re dissatisfied with the circumstances of our lives. And it makes sense in a way, doesn’t it? After all, we believe God can control everything -- that He’s all powerful. So if something in our world stays broken after we’ve asked for His help, He must just not care, right?
This is where wisdom steps in and says, “Wait a minute.” Life comes with two kinds of pain. There’s the hard stuff that’s out of our control, that everyone experiences eventually -- sickness, hurtful people, lack of money, natural disasters, etc. Paul wrote that all of creation groans under the weight of life on a fallen planet. (Romans 8:18-25) We’ve all sinned, and sin brings death. But before the death comes the dying, and dying hurts. Life here hurts.
Could God just take away all the pain of our broken world instantly? Sure. Instead, He allows this moment we call life to convince us that we need Him forever.
The other kind of pain, though, comes as a more direct consequence of our foolish choices. Sometimes, we get sick, or run out of money, or suffer in terrible relationships because we do unwise things. We say unwise words. We unwisely play when we should be working. We refuse to trust God and instead “do it our way.” Nobody can rightly blame God for that kind of pain. That’s all on us. Wise people get wiser by taking the rap for their foolish choices.
The writer of this verse noticed something in his world. Those most likely to make foolish choices are also most likely to blame God for their pain. They’re the ones most likely to be shouting, “How could a good God allow . . .?” I’ve noticed the opposite also tends to be true. Those in my life most likely to make wise choices are also the least likely to blame God when terrible things happen in their lives. And terrible things do happen, even to people who make good choices.
Paul said that he had learned to be content in both high-pain and low-pain circumstances, because he was absolutely convinced that this life is short and the next one is pain-free for followers of Jesus. Finding a life that matters starts with embracing wisdom and letting God be God even in the harshest times.
I think the writer of this proverb nails all of us with this one. It’s so easy to blame God when we’re dissatisfied with the circumstances of our lives. And it makes sense in a way, doesn’t it? After all, we believe God can control everything -- that He’s all powerful. So if something in our world stays broken after we’ve asked for His help, He must just not care, right?
This is where wisdom steps in and says, “Wait a minute.” Life comes with two kinds of pain. There’s the hard stuff that’s out of our control, that everyone experiences eventually -- sickness, hurtful people, lack of money, natural disasters, etc. Paul wrote that all of creation groans under the weight of life on a fallen planet. (Romans 8:18-25) We’ve all sinned, and sin brings death. But before the death comes the dying, and dying hurts. Life here hurts.
Could God just take away all the pain of our broken world instantly? Sure. Instead, He allows this moment we call life to convince us that we need Him forever.
The other kind of pain, though, comes as a more direct consequence of our foolish choices. Sometimes, we get sick, or run out of money, or suffer in terrible relationships because we do unwise things. We say unwise words. We unwisely play when we should be working. We refuse to trust God and instead “do it our way.” Nobody can rightly blame God for that kind of pain. That’s all on us. Wise people get wiser by taking the rap for their foolish choices.
The writer of this verse noticed something in his world. Those most likely to make foolish choices are also most likely to blame God for their pain. They’re the ones most likely to be shouting, “How could a good God allow . . .?” I’ve noticed the opposite also tends to be true. Those in my life most likely to make wise choices are also the least likely to blame God when terrible things happen in their lives. And terrible things do happen, even to people who make good choices.
Paul said that he had learned to be content in both high-pain and low-pain circumstances, because he was absolutely convinced that this life is short and the next one is pain-free for followers of Jesus. Finding a life that matters starts with embracing wisdom and letting God be God even in the harshest times.
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