Bad behavior in the common man & The abuse of grace as a lifestyle.
So, I work in a customer service oriented job, (what kind of job isn't customer service huh?) and I swear that I must deal with some of the dumbest people on the planet; no exaggeration.
In my particular position of service people call me up and request account information...the most common and dumbest thing that people seem to do is blurt out information that is neither helpful nor prudent...example: Phone rings, I pick up and say hello and "What is your account number?" member says "My password is zippitydoodah, my DOB is 01/02/03 and the last 4 of my SSN is 3333"...Now, why, on Gods green earth, would you blurt out personal information without first establishing that you're talking to the person you want to be talking to and have reached the appropriate department or location? I figure if someone is dumb enough to give out info that hasn't been requested than it's pretty much a guarantee that these same people survive by the grace of other more intelligent people...you know that saying: "And there by the grace of God, go I" ? Well, that's the only way that I can imagine that some people have lived as long as they have...by the grace of GOD!
On the same token...The guy that cut you off in his sports car this morning on your way to work (bastard), the woman with too many rowdy and uncontrolled kids in the supermarket that grabbed the last carton of eggs as you were reaching for it(birth control), the boss that decided that you aren't a team player and are not worth the raise that every one else got even though you've been with the company the longest(napoleon complex) and your brother that left home way too young to chase his dreams of being a drugged out loner that lived under bridges and dreamt of being a multi-millionare without any actual "real-world" experience(sad)...all of these people milling about and bumping into each other on this ball of dirt, they must be here for something, though they may never recognize it, even so, they will continue to make poor decisions and stab others in the Achilles heel without necessarilly trying...they're all under the same umbrella of grace as me even if they don't get it...(Damn it.)
You see, I believe in Gods grace, I believe it's worth believing in because I've felt its effects...BUT...if some moron is soaking up all the grace because they're too dumb to get in out of the rain and put some shoes on when they're walking through rusty nails then GOD HELP US ALL and save us from the people you've deemed worthy of your grace!
Is it possible to take advantage of Gods grace?
I suppose some people might equate grace with salvation and in so doing might say "Once saved, always saved"...I don't know if I believe that but it sure sounds nice...sounds nice, but not very realistic, to me anyway. But is Gods grace realistic? Not "Is God real?" but is Gods grace and do Gods actions of grace speak of realistic-ness - real-ISM in the everyday senses of my made up words?
I don't think so, I think God moves and works on a decidedly un-realistic level...are you shocked? Hiding from lightning?...let me explain what I mean...
God (three in one) in his/their infinite wisdom created beings in his/their own image to multiply and supplant the earth and to have communion with God...seems pretty unreal already...to continue...man rebelled against a simple command that was not altogether un-realistic in its simplicity; "Do not eat of that tree." JUST DON'T DO IT, DON'T! How much more simple and realistic could a request be?
But, they did, they ate, they saw, they got booted from the perfect garden home and an eternal physical life...(thus down through the ages men and women age to an average of 75 to 80 years and no more)...So man is already particularly NOT GOOD at following practical and realistic instructions...
So, God's grace, is it realistic? And do we take advantage of it?
Let's look at it a different way to search for a possible answer...You are a young teenager, an only child, the icing on your parents cake and the apple of your fathers eye...you're not spoiled but you know that you've got certain advantages that you didn't necessarily earn...you want to go to the mall or the movies, go on a date with the lead singer of DEATHRAT! or get a sports car that you cannot afford on your part time job wages working at the Hello Kitty store in the strip mall...you beg and plead and moan and groan until your daddy either gives you what you want or gives up on you completely...after all, why shouldn't you have everything your heart desires? You are the apple of your fathers eye, are you not?...and because you know of the advantages that can be gained because of your particularly lofty status with your daddy; why shouldn't be able to make any poorly judged, not thought through, bad decision that you want to?
So you got the Porsche, you dated the tattooed and pierced death metal singer, you saw all the movies, bought all the toys and snorted every friggin powder you could get your hands on - and why not? Daddy loved you and wouldn't say no if you begged him enough to have your way whether or not it was good for you...so, you're washed up now, congratulations, you got everything you wanted with no consequences...but does daddy still love you after all that you've done? Yes. Is he disappointed in the decisions you've made? Probably, but you would never know it because he's always loved you with the same intensity and fervor...
So, did you take advantage of daddys love? Was his love realistic in the first place or did it place too many demands on you? Were you required to join a club or recite a mantra in order to take advantage of his love? When you'd blown it and came back bruised and bleeding from all the mistakes you'd made did daddy require you to say his name and birthdate until you were blue in the face?
No. That's all. Simple. Just no.
You weren't required to DO anything...the only thing that was required of you was to BE. Not BE GOOD or BE NICE or BE THE BEST...The only qualification that was necessary for you to have earned his love was that you were his child.
So there it is, the explanation that you've been waiting for all your life to explain Gods grace and in effect his love...Now, if you could just wrap your head around the idea that Jesus was/is Gods grace in the flesh/spirit...but we'll save that for another day.
Final thought...Is Gods grace/love some kind of chainlink band-aid that he uses to cover up our bad decisions and the wounds they inflict? - OR - Is it an inescapable foundation that we don't recognize as necessary until we've seemingly used up all of our "Get out of jail free" cards and need "Daddy" to bail us out?
And...can we...do we...are we, taking advantage of Gods grace, unnecessarily?
NOT POSSIBLE.
As hard as we may try and as bad as we believe we have been, will be and have become; Gods grace will never be something that we could abuse...
Put simply: Because we can not earn it; we can not spend it.
In my particular position of service people call me up and request account information...the most common and dumbest thing that people seem to do is blurt out information that is neither helpful nor prudent...example: Phone rings, I pick up and say hello and "What is your account number?" member says "My password is zippitydoodah, my DOB is 01/02/03 and the last 4 of my SSN is 3333"...Now, why, on Gods green earth, would you blurt out personal information without first establishing that you're talking to the person you want to be talking to and have reached the appropriate department or location? I figure if someone is dumb enough to give out info that hasn't been requested than it's pretty much a guarantee that these same people survive by the grace of other more intelligent people...you know that saying: "And there by the grace of God, go I" ? Well, that's the only way that I can imagine that some people have lived as long as they have...by the grace of GOD!
On the same token...The guy that cut you off in his sports car this morning on your way to work (bastard), the woman with too many rowdy and uncontrolled kids in the supermarket that grabbed the last carton of eggs as you were reaching for it(birth control), the boss that decided that you aren't a team player and are not worth the raise that every one else got even though you've been with the company the longest(napoleon complex) and your brother that left home way too young to chase his dreams of being a drugged out loner that lived under bridges and dreamt of being a multi-millionare without any actual "real-world" experience(sad)...all of these people milling about and bumping into each other on this ball of dirt, they must be here for something, though they may never recognize it, even so, they will continue to make poor decisions and stab others in the Achilles heel without necessarilly trying...they're all under the same umbrella of grace as me even if they don't get it...(Damn it.)
You see, I believe in Gods grace, I believe it's worth believing in because I've felt its effects...BUT...if some moron is soaking up all the grace because they're too dumb to get in out of the rain and put some shoes on when they're walking through rusty nails then GOD HELP US ALL and save us from the people you've deemed worthy of your grace!
Is it possible to take advantage of Gods grace?
I suppose some people might equate grace with salvation and in so doing might say "Once saved, always saved"...I don't know if I believe that but it sure sounds nice...sounds nice, but not very realistic, to me anyway. But is Gods grace realistic? Not "Is God real?" but is Gods grace and do Gods actions of grace speak of realistic-ness - real-ISM in the everyday senses of my made up words?
I don't think so, I think God moves and works on a decidedly un-realistic level...are you shocked? Hiding from lightning?...let me explain what I mean...
God (three in one) in his/their infinite wisdom created beings in his/their own image to multiply and supplant the earth and to have communion with God...seems pretty unreal already...to continue...man rebelled against a simple command that was not altogether un-realistic in its simplicity; "Do not eat of that tree." JUST DON'T DO IT, DON'T! How much more simple and realistic could a request be?
But, they did, they ate, they saw, they got booted from the perfect garden home and an eternal physical life...(thus down through the ages men and women age to an average of 75 to 80 years and no more)...So man is already particularly NOT GOOD at following practical and realistic instructions...
So, God's grace, is it realistic? And do we take advantage of it?
Let's look at it a different way to search for a possible answer...You are a young teenager, an only child, the icing on your parents cake and the apple of your fathers eye...you're not spoiled but you know that you've got certain advantages that you didn't necessarily earn...you want to go to the mall or the movies, go on a date with the lead singer of DEATHRAT! or get a sports car that you cannot afford on your part time job wages working at the Hello Kitty store in the strip mall...you beg and plead and moan and groan until your daddy either gives you what you want or gives up on you completely...after all, why shouldn't you have everything your heart desires? You are the apple of your fathers eye, are you not?...and because you know of the advantages that can be gained because of your particularly lofty status with your daddy; why shouldn't be able to make any poorly judged, not thought through, bad decision that you want to?
So you got the Porsche, you dated the tattooed and pierced death metal singer, you saw all the movies, bought all the toys and snorted every friggin powder you could get your hands on - and why not? Daddy loved you and wouldn't say no if you begged him enough to have your way whether or not it was good for you...so, you're washed up now, congratulations, you got everything you wanted with no consequences...but does daddy still love you after all that you've done? Yes. Is he disappointed in the decisions you've made? Probably, but you would never know it because he's always loved you with the same intensity and fervor...
So, did you take advantage of daddys love? Was his love realistic in the first place or did it place too many demands on you? Were you required to join a club or recite a mantra in order to take advantage of his love? When you'd blown it and came back bruised and bleeding from all the mistakes you'd made did daddy require you to say his name and birthdate until you were blue in the face?
No. That's all. Simple. Just no.
You weren't required to DO anything...the only thing that was required of you was to BE. Not BE GOOD or BE NICE or BE THE BEST...The only qualification that was necessary for you to have earned his love was that you were his child.
So there it is, the explanation that you've been waiting for all your life to explain Gods grace and in effect his love...Now, if you could just wrap your head around the idea that Jesus was/is Gods grace in the flesh/spirit...but we'll save that for another day.
Final thought...Is Gods grace/love some kind of chainlink band-aid that he uses to cover up our bad decisions and the wounds they inflict? - OR - Is it an inescapable foundation that we don't recognize as necessary until we've seemingly used up all of our "Get out of jail free" cards and need "Daddy" to bail us out?
And...can we...do we...are we, taking advantage of Gods grace, unnecessarily?
NOT POSSIBLE.
As hard as we may try and as bad as we believe we have been, will be and have become; Gods grace will never be something that we could abuse...
Put simply: Because we can not earn it; we can not spend it.
posted by Benji at 1:40 PM
2 Comments:
i don't think it's possible NOT to take advantage of God's grace. By definition, "taking advantage" is something like, "taking more than you deserve" right? When we look at ourselves and the condition of the human heart we definitely DO NOT deserve the grace that God has afforded us. when i think of undeserved grace two verses come to mind. jer. 17.9 says "the human heart is decietful and desperately wicked. who really knows how bad it is?" the second verse is isa. 64.6 "we are all infected and impure with sin. when we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags. like autumn leaves, we wither and fall. and our sins, like the wind, sweep us away." so, if our very best attempt at righteousness is like filthy rags, and our human hearts are desperately wicked, we don't even come close to deserving God's grace and if we are to accept God's grace at all it is by definition "taking advantage" of God'd grace. i think it's ok to take advantage of this gift though, because what is the alternative? faith and grace recieved by works? it is not of works lest any man should boast. God knew what he was doing... we just need to remind each other every once in a while that we don't deserve the grace that we've been given. keeps us in our place. good word brother.... i love you. jimmy
Exactly;) You get it.
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