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Having the right attitude about God

 

We all want to believe that our lives will be perfect – without trouble or pain or fear. We all want to get our way all the time. We want to think that we are never wrong. Of course, life throws us curve balls. Our lives are not perfect and neither are we – that is God’s job.

 

It is easy to praise God when we get our way. On the other side of that coin, we find it just as easy to question God when things get bad. The thought that goes through many people’s minds is: “If God is a loving god, why doesn’t he do ‘this’?” Or, “If God is just, why doesn’t he do ‘that’?”

 

The truth is, since God is the only one who made the Universe, he is the only one who can take a look around and see the whole picture. Everything happens for a reason and everything has its time. He knows that timing has to be right and he knows how we are. Good things are a gift from God and bad things happen because this is a cursed and fallen world we live in.

 

For example, had Adam and Eve not eaten the forbidden fruit, we would still be able to go to Eden and not suffer bad things. They did eat the fruit, however, and God dealt them consequences that still affect us today. Casting them out of Eden was also an act of mercy, because had they eaten the fruit from the Tree of Life, they would have forever been cursed by sin. Don’t be too hard on them, you and I may have fallen pray to this temptation as well, had we been in their place.

 

God knew that we could not handle the burden of sin and so he gave man the option of sacrifices to cover for sin. This lasted for thousands of years and was to set in motion the final and absolutely perfect sacrifice that Jesus would make on the cross – rolling sin all the way back to Adam and casting it into the sea. Jesus broke the power of sin and all we have to do is accept his sacrifice for our sins and we will be cleansed.

 

So what are the right attitudes to have towards God?

 

–    Gratitude - Psalm 50:14 

–    Respect - Psalm 67:7

–    Obedience - Ecclesiastes 5:1

–    Loyalty – Matthew 10:22

–    Love - Psalm 31:23
Questions?

Here are a few good questions to start a family discussion when doing a Bible study:

  1. What can we learn from this?
  2. How can I apply these lessons to my life?
  3. What does this word mean?

I bet you can find a few more questions. Remember, kids and parents, questions are a good sign that there is an interest in spiritual growth, so please be patient and do your best to find the right answers. If you have problems finding the answers on your own there are resources out there you can use. Any question that cannot be answered right away should be written down and looked up later.

For a successful Bible study you will need:

  • A Bible that is understandable (a translation that is easy to read but true to the original document - eg. The Book, The Message, NAS, NIrV, Amplified and NKJV)
  • A family dictionary (for defining those hard to understand words)
  • A thesaurus (not always necessary, but it is nice to have)
  • A concordence (for a topic by topic search)
  • Any other good resource can be found at your local Christian book store or online. I recommend Heaven and Earth, Dudley's, Family Christian Store, and Crossings.

Don't be afraid to ask your minister about the really hard subjects that you just can't  find the answers to on your own.

Rules to live by according to God (from the Message Bible)

Leviticus 19

17"Don't secretly hate your neighbor. If you have something against him, get it out into the open; otherwise you are an accomplice in his guilt.
18"Don't seek revenge or carry a grudge against any of your people.
"Love your neighbor as yourself. I am GOD.

Matthew 19

16Another day, a man stopped Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
17Jesus said, "Why do you question me about what's good? God is the One who is good. If you want to enter the life of God, just do what he tells you."
18The man asked, "What in particular?"
Jesus said, "Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, 19honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as you do yourself."
20The young man said, "I've done all that. What's left?"
21"If you want to give it all you've got," Jesus replied, "go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me."

 



(c) Esther R Barnett 2004. God Bless and have fun surfing!