God Owes Me

These are the words of a man that I dealt with who was experiencing grief.  He went on to tell me that he had lost two people that were close to him.  I tried to explain to him that God doesn’t owe any of us anything, yet I don’t think that he comprehended any of what I said to him.  Though I didn’t agree with him, I could get why he felt the way that he did.  What I don’t get is why that seems to be a way of thinking; especially at race tracks.  You will often hear someone say those very words; maybe even add in. “I’m due for a win.”

When we say that God owes us, we are saying that God has failed in His duty towards us, and that he is under obligation to us.  You see it’s the other way around.  He created us and formed us as a potter would clay, to one day be in the image of God.  He does allow us to make mistakes and that brings about all sorts of grief which we can use to grow by.  But it’s a lot easier to complain and blame God or others for our misfortune.  After all, in this day and age, “It’s not my fault, it’s someone else’s and if I can when I find out I will show them!”

Yet the Bible is clear in what we owe to others if we are believers to God: Do not owe people anything, except always owe love to each other, because the person that loves others has obeyed all the law.  The law says, “You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not murder anyone.  You must not steal.  You must not want to take your neighbor’s things.”   All these commands and all others are really only one rule: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”  Love never hurts a neighbor, so loving is obeying all the law.  Do this because we live in an important time.  It is now time for you to wake up from your sleep, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.  The “night” is almost finished, and the “day” is almost here.  So we should stop doing things that belong to darkness and take up the weapons used for fighting in the light.  Let us live in a right way, like people who belong to the day.  We should not have wild parties or get drunk.  There should be no sexual sins of any kind, no fighting or jealousy.  But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and forget about satisfying your sinful self.” (Romans 13:8-14)

These are difficult words to live by, yet they bring great reward in following their teaching.  Will you trust the Lord with your life and be a blessing to others, or will you take control of your life and blame others for your faults and complain to God he’s not doing his part?  The choice is yours, chose wisely.

Dan Laterza