"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain*, for the LORD will not hold [him] guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
Exodus 20:7
(* = emptiness, vanity, falsehood)
Dear God,
I submit this letter to inform you of my great disappointment. I want to preface by saying that I hold you accountable for all that this letter entails. You are guilty of its content. You are guilty of its truth. And you are responsible for all I’m about to say.
It would only be fair for me to begin by admitting that you gave me a pretty good start in life. You provided for all my needs. You cared for all my wants. And, as far as I knew, you listened to me when I just needed someone to talk to. For this, and this alone, I will say thank you.
But this is where the gratitude ends. From this point in my life, everything I knew and enjoyed began to slowly unravel. The rules that you chose to put into place had become too stifling and infringed upon my freedom as an individual. I’m not a child. I don’t need constant supervision. I don’t need someone to tell me what to do or not to do. I can figure that out on my own.
Speaking of being on my own, may I remind you that it was you who brought this person into my life. For some reason, you thought I couldn’t handle life the way it was. Sure, I went along with the idea for a little while but don’t try to pass the blame to me. It was and will forever be your fault.
Without this person coming into my life the events that took place would have never happened. My life would have continued as usual. My surroundings would have remained the same. And, as far as I know, my heart would have remained content.
I guess it’s true that you know all things and so you probably knew I would write this letter. Having known this, I decided to write it anyway. I figured it was a good idea to have my side of the story in writing. That way if anyone ever tries to blame what happened on me, they will have this to look back upon.
Surely, some will still say it was my choice.
Some will say it was my fault.
And some will say I should take the blame.
But, as my Creator, I am going to blame it all on you, God.
As an all-knowing, all-powerful Being, surely you knew I couldn’t be trusted with a choice. Please leave me alone. I can handle it from here. You’ve done enough already.
Sincerely,
Adam
P.S. Eve loves the clothes you gave us before we moved. Somehow, I knew You would still provide despite me blaming You for all that is wrong with the world.
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Using God’s name in a vain and false manner doesn’t always resound in the way in which we have become accustomed. Sometimes it is simply blaming God for a decision we have made ourselves and the consequences that follow. And when we use His name as a vain attempt to eschew personal responsibility in this way, we should readily admit that the roots of our ancestral tree are certainly showing.
And He said, "Who told you that you [were] naked?
Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?"
Then the man said,
"The woman whom You gave [to be] with me, she gave me of the tree,
and I ate."
Genesis 3:11-12
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin,
and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
Romans 5:12
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