Vote God Out

If the kingdom of heaven were a democracy, and if, we those created in the Imago Dei, could have a vote about who is going to be in charge, would we indeed vote the God we read about in the Bible, that we observe in the cosmos, and that we experience, or think we experience, in daily life, in prayer and in pain, back into leadership again?

After all, how many of us are getting what we really think we deserve out of this God?  Prosperity?  Bah, humbug–prosperity lands upon only for the very few, and generally the very unethical few, i.e., the Bernie Madoff’s and Jeffrey Skillings of the world, and occasionally on a “name it and claim it” preacher who almost always turns out to be a scoundrel and scalawag. Easy living?  You’ve got to be kidding–I don’t know one person whose life is actually easy.  Good health?  Well, sit down and name your ailments for a few minutes.  Bet you’ve got several, especially if you are a trained athlete or have passed the age of 35.

What about salvation?  In truth, none of us alive really know if we are going to get that or not–assuming it does mean eternal life in the presence of God.  As much as we want to know, we really cannot come back from the dead yet and tell for sure what it is like on the other side.  And as many great “near death” experiences people have had, there have also been a lot of awful “near death” experiences which most definitely don’t get the press.

I honestly think that if we could, we’d vote God out and vote in Santa Claus.  Really.  Just makes more sense.  A once a year toy, the mysterious disappearance of the requisite milk and cookies, and no demands except trying to generally be nice.  No calls to extreme holiness, to laying down our lives for one another, no longsuffering and painful patience, no entrance into anguished suffering to see if we can make a difference.  Nope.  Just believe, write out our lists, leak the main items on our list to willing ears, and wait with anticipation for wish-fulfillment day.