The God card
The God card has been played a lot lately. Rather like any game of cards, it confuses me.
How does the God card work? What happens when the God card is contradictory? Does that mean that it's a fake God card, or that multiple cards can be played at once?
Is the God card something that is used too often? or perhaps not often enough?
What exactly is the God card?
Maybe everyone has a different conception of what it is, but in my understanding it works like this:
Someone tells you something, and says that it came from God, or that they think God prompted something,
eg
-"I feel that God told me..."
-"This is such a God thing!"
-"I don't know about you, but I'd say this is divine!"
In the past few weeks, the God card seems to have been used a lot. I, myself, used it when I first found the Avonheadroad flat
"Wow... Landlady is a Christian... This must be God!"
Later the landlady was to muck us around a bit. Suddenly I was wondering if a God card had actually been played or whether it was merely a trick one.
The God card was again used when one of my flatmates told me that she felt God wanted us to have the avonheadroad flat. In my head, i wanted to be as far away from the flat as possible, as the whole place and its atmosphere really upsets me, but what if the flatmate was right and God did want us to live there? I had felt that we shouldn't be at the flat as a result of all the bad things that had happened there. Now i was contemplating reconsidering my viewpoint as a result of the playing of this God card.
Even more recently, I got a text message from a girl i really look up to. She was inviting me to flat with her. When i went around to meet her and the other flatmates, she told me that a few days earlier my name had popped into her head, and two days later, one of her flatmates announced that she was leaving.
"I think its divine" the girl told me.
Before i left the house, we all prayed together. Two of the girls prayed along the lines of
"Thankyou, God, for bringing Michelle along. Its clear that she's the right person for our house. We hope that you would find another person to take her place at avonheadroad"
Wait a minute!! I had made no decision either way, yet these girls were telling me that God seemed to want me in their flat, and that it was a divine thing. This God card added to my confusion. Maybe they were right and I ought to be living with them.
In some ways, the God card feels like a guilt trip to me.
"God said this..."
or "I think God wants you to..."
How come if God says or thinks something about a thing that i'm involved in He doesn't just say it to me? That would be a whole lot easier!
I know that God does work through other people, but just how often? Is this where the gift of discernment comes in? Or should I just trust the way others play this card?
So when the God card seems contradictory, how do you know which usage is the correct one? If I'm supposed to be at both flats, then why can't i just cut myself in half?
Maybe i shouldn't be at either! Maybe I should go live on the moon with a giant potato and a ten-toed lemur. That would be the solution to all my problems. I'd have company, food, alone time, and eons of time with God! Er anyway...
Playing cards is just confusing. Perhaps we should stick to board games...
5 Comments:
Yeah... I get totally fed up with people playing the God card. My response is generally "that's nice for you, but until he tells me the same thing, I'm going to act as though it's just you."
Also, I'm aware of times I've played the God card and, in hindsight, realised it was actually just me. So I'm pretty careful about pulling out the old "God says."
Ah, the God card. In my experience, genuine copies of this card is relatively rare, compared to the number of forgeries.
In the old testament, the punishment for playing a fake God card was death. Doing so is really misrepresenting God, and is false prophecy. Not very good.
Did you read my post trust in God? Its a similar thing. People tend to confuse what God wants with what they want.
Anyway, my advice is to investigate the options yourself, and to realize that God wants people to use all your brain, and not rely on intuitions (which may or may not be divinely inspired), of yourself, or others. Because intuitions are so often wrong, and far too often misinterpreted.
ahh... yes, Michelle, you have struck a good one here.
I think most Christians who pull the God card are manipulating people - whether they mean to or not. Often, it's just their own God/rose-coloured glasses making them see things that really are just coincidental.
Personally, if people pull the God card on me - I'd be even more sceptical that God was actually saying it. See, I don't think God works like that - I don't think He manipulates with great cunning to beguiled pawns like us into his master plan...
Good point Nathan - false prophets were stoned (not 'stoned', as they are today), and for good reason - because it's serious stuff, and can seriously be used manipulatively. Not that they're doing it intentionally, but as they say - assumption is the mother of all mistakes.
Nope, I think if God wants me to do anything different to what He's already told me to do - like instructions from the Bible - He'd make it pretty clear.
But largely, I see the details of life up to us. Entirely up to us. That is the beauty of our freedom on earth, that we can live out Christlike lives in such a variety of ways. To be honest, I think God gave us brains to use them, and we should use them.
Another thing to determine if the 'God card' is real is the integrity of the 'prophet'. Are they close to God? Do their lives show it? Are they faithful to Him in all areas of their life, all the time? Do you respect them and their faith enough to trust them?
Personally, I think if God wanted me to do something specific, He'd either tell me directly, or through someone I DO trust as a man or woman of God.
That's what I think... down with the God card, up with actually obeying what the Bible says... =)
Your landlady is a Christian and she's stuffing you round? Hmm.. even though I've never been flatting, what you've written in previous posts makes your landlady/the flat sound kinda dodgy, and here you're saying she's Christian? Sometimes, people will also play the "I'm/You're a Christian" Card, which if you've ever been to christian schools etc will sound really familiar. They screw you round but expect you to put up with it, because you're a christian (and are therefore forgiving and will put up with anything), or because you're both christians and that somehow makes it OK. In all honesty it's a method of manipulation (like rueben said, not necessarily on purpose) and pretty dirty considering. I'm hoping that's not what's happening here but it doesn't sound good! I really hope you guys manage to figure something out :)
Yup, the God card one is kinda hard to figure out. It reminds me immediately of middleton and anything pente - lots of cringe-worthy memories there :(
My favourite use of the God card is the christian chat up line "God told me to marry you". Fortunately our history teacher was cynical enough that all us girls became wary of anything like that, and not just coming from guys. Being a pente obviously doesn't help, a lot of people pull the card quite often at some churches and it seems to hold a bit of status. Thank God for sane pastors/church members who keep telling you to base everything on what the Bible says rather than your own experience! I personally think using hte God card's wrong, but having said that, I have a sneaking feeling I've used it myself in the past.
To all the other commenters, Matt, Nato, Reuben, and Christina, a resounding, DAMN STRAIGHT!
This is one thing (of many i guess! ^_^) that really gets me angry. It seems to me (and this is really cynical i know. but meh. cynism has never technically hurt anybody. you cant proove it! ^_^)
It seems to me that when people do this it comes off as really arrogant, as if we can interpret the will of God.
I lose a lot of respect for people who say things like this. i know people can come up with different interpretations of the Bible, and thats all good for theo debate, but when stuff like this starts happening, with no biblical background, then how far removed is it from the new age:
"Do what you feel because really we are all Gods?"
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