This idea (theology calls this concept “pre-destination”) defies logic, requiring us to believe that everything that happens or people do, good or evil, is determined by God’s plan. One must do all sorts of mental gymnastics to understand personal responsibility, creativity, and love when we are merely game pieces on God’s chess board.

Others see God’s will more as a project plan, if not a script, with designated milestones and expected outcomes for each life.  Our purpose on earth is to first determine what the plan is and then deliver our work on time and on budget. Sin, then, is when we miss our milestone delivery dates or worse, spend our lives working on the wrong project.  However, in the end, we discover that the deliverables were not really the point – it was most important to be working towards the right goals, accomplished or not.

You may remember a small booklet circulated by Campus Crusade for Christ called, “The Four Spiritual Laws.” This evangelism tool clearly stated the point I am making. The first “law” was, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.”

The many flavors of “free will” protestants vary in what that life plan entails. Most present new Christians with a biblical template and then instruct them how to fill in the details through prayer and personal study. Some include the ‘gifts of the spirit’ and ‘spiritual calling’ while others refer to ‘being on the journey of faith.’ The underlying driver, however, is that God has an explicit expectation for the individual (called a ‘purpose’, ‘mission’, ‘ministry’, or ‘calling’) that must be accomplished if the Christian want to get that judgment day commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Servanthood is the key mindset here. God is the ultimate Monarch so we must be the subjects, servants and slaves. Certainly slaves and servants need clear tasks and detailed instructions to accomplish what the Master has in mind. There is no need to ask why or wonder what the individual’s small part is about, the Master’s plan is far above the worker.

All of these ideas arise from various world views incorporated into theology. When the whole world was controlled by kings and queens who held absolute power of the individual’s daily lives – of course God must be the same, only more so; rendering judgments and commandments to not only individuals but countries and nature itself. God’s will is whatever God wishes at the moment, fluid and influenced by the subjects, and accomplished by commands rewarded and punished.

As the power of monarchs diminished, the mechanical age immerged and a middle class developed dependent upon pragmatic efficiency, so the idea of God’s will changed. Machines were so much more reliable and productive, so the universe must be some sort of machine. Assembly lines organized construction so much more efficiently than the single craftsman, so God must be working humankind through the divine production line, each stitch perfectly placed and, most importantly, every one the same.

As capitalism and materialism flourished, with the culture’s attention of profits and returns on investments, so God must be expecting returns on God’s investment. Those people or institutions or governments which are not being productive in God’s plan are ‘divested’ as unprofitable. Parables of the wise stewards, pruning the vine, and the fruitless fig tree come to mind. This worldview is closest to us and as I write this I am resisting thinking, “Yeah, that’s right. God invested Christ and we have to make it work.”

So where are we today? I believe this century is in transition and it is quite unclear how the world view is shifting. My (American) generation began as the love children and ended up know for conspicuous consumption, looking for love ”in all the wrong places.” Intervening decades have produced the yuppies, Gen-X and Gen-Y. Perhaps the current 20 somethings are headed to be the Green-Gen and the next Global-Gen.

I think we are approaching an age where people and ideas will be appreciated for their own merits and not as ‘resources and opportunities.’  I hope for a world where creativity is more important that profit and that labor is for love and not just a pay check. I want the Church to see all humans as blessed of God and valuable in its community as they work in love to create heaven on earth.

 

©2009  David Loofbourrow  All Rights Reserved