by Doy Moyer<\/p>\n
God doesn’t need our defense (as though He needed anything (Acts 17:25)). When we accept God in total – that, for example, He is all-knowing, all-wise, all-understanding, all-powerful, all-loving, all-just, all-gracious, all-righteous, all-good, owner of life and death, etc. – then we won’t feel like He owes us explanations for everything He does. He is not amenable to us. When we accept God for who He is, then we can trust that He knows what He is doing and that He has good reasons for whatever He does. Just because we do not understand something does not, therefore, mean that God doesn’t know what He is doing or that He is doing something wrong. That attitude places us above Him and makes us gods.<\/p>\n
Many want to accept God only on their own terms and only if we can understand every action and thought of God. But if that were the case, then we would be God. As Miles Davis is credited with saying, “If you understood everything I say, you’d be me.” Likewise, if we fully understood God, we’d be Him. But we aren’t, so we need to quit giving God ultimatums as if we have authority over Him.<\/p>\n
Once we accept God for who He is in His total and complete character, many problems dissipate because we can trust that He knows what He is doing and that He will always do what is right. If we can’t do that, then we are assuming a standard above Him of our own making and then judging Him for the way we think He ought to be. The finite judging the infinite is not a good look. We are far too limited to put ourselves in that position, but it would seem that our arrogance won’t keep us from trying to do just that. No, if God doesn’t act according to our standards, then we feel free to reject Him. Don’t expect God to be impressed by our reasoning.<\/p>\n
The preacher’s warning here is always relevant: “Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few<\/em>” (Ecclesiastes 5:2).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Doy Moyer God doesn’t need our defense (as though He needed anything (Acts 17:25)). When we accept God in total – that, for example, He is all-knowing, all-wise, all-understanding, all-powerful, all-loving, all-just, all-gracious, all-righteous, all-good, owner of life and death, etc. – then we won’t feel like He owes us explanations for everything He…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1267,90],"class_list":["post-67679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-acceptance","tag-god"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":36648,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-only-accept-willing-service\/","url_meta":{"origin":67679,"position":0},"title":"Does God only accept willing service?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is doing something you don't want to do, but you're only doing it for God counted as valid for Him? Or not doing something you'd like to do because of God, is it valid? I mean, what if He doesn't accept us doing something that we're not \"willing\" to?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49192,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-expect-us-to-do-our-part\/","url_meta":{"origin":67679,"position":1},"title":"Does God expect us to do our part?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When Simon helps carries Jesus' cross in Mark 15:21, does it have any special meaning? I remember a pastor talking about how Jesus told Christians to deny ourselves and take up our own cross (such as in Luke 9:23), but He could not carry His own cross. Simon had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61686,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-call-jesus-good\/","url_meta":{"origin":67679,"position":2},"title":"Why Call Jesus Good?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 5, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Mark 10:17-31 tells of a rich, young ruler who approached Jesus and asked, \"Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?\" He was interested enough to seek and find the right source for answers, but the issue was whether he was ready to listen and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34157,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-bring-an-agnostic-friend-to-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":67679,"position":3},"title":"How do I bring an agnostic friend to Christ?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello. I thank you again for the opportunity to ask questions and get them answered so promptly! I am debating with my close friends, so my question is how do I bring my agnostic friend to Christ? Here is a discussion we are having at the moment and please\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19388,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-happens-if-i-know-god-but-i-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":67679,"position":4},"title":"What happens if I know God, but I sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 9, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was doing a little research on sin to try and understand it a little better. I have just read through the New Testament and I'm still unclear on some things. I read\u00a0your article online about sin, it was very informative and helped me greatly, however, I have a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43095,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-blessed-and-only-sovereign\/","url_meta":{"origin":67679,"position":5},"title":"The Blessed and Only Sovereign","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer The Lord \"is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords\u2026\" (I Timothy 6:15). To say that God is sovereign is to recognize that He is in control. This is not to make a trite or bumper-sticker theology kind of statement. 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