Arguing With God

²⁷ Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, ²⁸ what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”   “If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”-Genesis 18:27-28


³⁰ The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” ³¹ So Moses went back to the LORD and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. ³² But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”-Exodus 32:30-32


I raised two boys and they were very, very different.  Richard and I had to use two different parenting styles.  Daniel was always ready and willing to do what he was told.  If he did something wrong, all it took was "the look" to get him back on track.  Kevin, however, argued about absolutely everything.  It didn't take long for me and Richard to figure out that we should let Kevin argue us into what we were going to do anyway.  A little "reverse psychology, if you will.  Of course we had to be on our toes and see the argument coming.  We weren't always able to head him off.  But when we did, It was beneficial in a couple of ways.  It made life a little less stressful around the House of Hayes, plus Kevin had the opportunity to reason out why things were being done the way Richard and I did them.


When we read these stories in the Bible, do we really think that Abraham or Moses are "winning" arguments with God?  ...Like they have come up with some fresh ideas that God hadn't already thought of?  Yeah, right.  Where do you think I got my parenting idea for raising Kevin?


I think God has pretty much made up his mind about how things are going to be and I don't think God is going to take "no" for an answer.  I don't think any of our theological arguments are going to make a difference either.  And I certainly don't think we are going to come up with anything in an argument that God hasn't already taken into consideration.


Just like worship and prayer, our arguments with God are beneficial to us, not God.  Worship teaches us to revere God.  Prayer keeps us connected to God.  Arguing with God helps us to understand (if only a little) why God does things the way he does them.


Certainly we make our own choices, and we can say "no" to God in the short term (to our own detriment), but God will have his way in the grand scheme of things.  In terms of eternity, in a way we cannot quite grasp, God has already succeeded in his plans.


Go ahead and argue!  God encourages it.  He knows it's a great way for us to increase our understanding.


Father,
Thank you for understanding when we argue with you out of frustration or lack of seeing your plan.  Help us to trust you more.  Amen.


Joys:  Being at home with no place to go on a rainy day; Donald Duck- my favorite Disney character - and having Cecelia as my excuse to watch; photos and videos shared on Facebook by far-away family