Defining Attitude of a god

The Jews answered Him, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God." Jesus answered them, "Has it not been written in your Law, 'I SAID, YOU ARE GODS'? "If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?" (John 10:33-36)

I had an interesting discussion yesterday with my daughter about this passage. As with many people, she seemed a bit startled when we read this part about gods and wondered what in the world this might mean. I too have puzzled over this most of my life until recently when I began to open my mind to think past the typical religious assumptions about gods. This was motivated by my habit of questioning definitions of words to explore the deeper meaning of the terms that we run into in religion.

I have written several times about this subject before, but each time I approach it I usually learn a little bit more, especially when discussing it with interested individuals. I feel that there is a great deal of missed blessing in not allowing ourselves to explore ideas such as this because they make us uncomfortable by challenging our paradigms. Yet it is becoming clear to me that mainstream religion has really missed some important thoughts connected with the concept of gods.

It is vital to have a more accurate definition of just what a god is or else the conversation will go downhill very quickly. I find that nearly everyone has a lot of assumptions about this word, many of which are based more on tradition than on reality or Scripture. But much can be deduced simply from thinking logically and thoughtfully about the role that gods have played throughout history in people's lives to discover just why we crave having gods to start with.

I do not want to repeat in full what I have written previously on this subject except to note that a god is anything or anyone to whom our heart turns expecting to receive what we hope to be life-giving. Any source from which we hope to gain a greater sense of value, of worth, of identity, of purpose and to make us feel better or more energized can be seen as a god. Generally the people and activities that we utilize to make us happy, to bring us pleasure are in some respect a god for us. Also included in this list is any source that we depend on to protect us from danger, loss or shame which can become a god for us. Thus when we view the ancient false gods using this definition it becomes much easier to see what was going on in people's minds when they created various gods to worship out of some rather bizarre objects or creatures.

Given this context I want to go further to say that I have come to believe, based on the Word of Scripture, that the true God of heaven created us to have many other gods in our lives. That may at first sound like blasphemy but I do not believe it is if one considers it carefully and objectively. We are all created in the image of God and we have no problem speaking of ourselves as part of the family of God. But why do we suddenly recoil with horror when someone suggests that included in that reality we might also be called a family of gods. Indeed we are all God's children which should imply that we have taken on the family name which just happens to be God's name. So what is so wrong with accepting the truth that Jesus so bluntly stated in this passage, that we are all gods?

But here is where the important part comes in that I am seeing in these verses. The Jews accused Jesus of making Himself out to be God when He was in fact just a human. Laying aside the fact that He was in fact God Himself in the flesh, Jesus did not defend Himself from that angle. Rather He pointed out to them that they were confused both about the reality of what a god really is and more importantly how a lesser god is supposed to relate to the highest God in heaven. Jesus came to this earth to live as a human, as a child of God for the purpose of both showing us what God is really like and also to give us an example of what a true human god, an obedient child in the God family could live like in proper relationship to his or her heavenly Father.

The key factor that I see in these verses is the issue of attitude which ties very closely to the passage in Philippians 2:2-11 where the real disposition of Jesus is described in explicit detail. The problem with the charges of these Jews was not so much whether Jesus was a god or not but was in the way in which He related to idea in His heart. They claimed that He was trying to make Himself God; yet in Philippians it becomes clear that Jesus, though being God already, had chosen to live in total selfless love and humbled Himself in every position He found Himself rather than grasping for greatness.

It is a diversion to get caught up arguing over whether we are gods or not while missing the far more vital truth of what motivates us to live in relationship with each other and in our relation to God. Jesus showed us clearly that the way to live as a healthy, whole, fulfilled and righteous human being is to live in humility, in selfless love and service, to function fully as a god as it is properly defined. Since I now see a god as filling the role of being a source of affirmation, of blessing, of identity and life to someone, then it is easier to see why all of us are intended by God, who is the ultimate source of all good things, to be little gods to act in concert with Him as channels of all good things to bless others as we receive them from Him.

The main issue at stake here is the character and attitude and disposition and condition of the spirit of a person. This is what Jesus was trying to expose in His answer to these religiously confused people who had similar notions about God that we still entertain today. Jesus went on to strongly link the way He treated people to the issue of His true identity even though these men kept trying to disconnect the two. Jesus even said that if they could not swallow believing that He was the Son of God that they should at least be honest enough to admit that everything that He had done in relation to other people delivered a compelling message about what kind of person He was.

It is not blasphemy to realize that we are all gods. Jesus stated this explicitly here and if we feel uncomfortable with this idea then we need to challenge our own thinking and feelings rather than continue distorting the Word of God to fit our assumptions. But more importantly we need to learn from Jesus what the true role and function of a god is and how that translates into living as a source of blessing for those around us rather than living to please ourselves and see how much we can hoard of God's blessings for our own consumption.

Selfishness is the very core of sin. Selfishness far more than the breaking of rules is the problem that we have to face in our lives if we want to get real with God. A person can seek to keep all the rules they can imagine, can maintain a glowing appearance of religiosity and can firmly believe they are a shoe-in for heaven based on their beliefs about salvation. But if their heart is not being transformed from an attitude of selfishness to an attitude of humility and joyful service for others, then they are likely still living in darkness. And those who live in darkness, who live for self whether that has all the appearances of good religion or whether they are openly sinning with abandon, they are living in the realm of false god worship.

The very first commandment instructs us to not allow any other gods to rise above our priority for our Father God in heaven. It does not say that we are to have no other gods at all but rather not to not allow them to come between us and the one true God. I believe that God has appointed all kinds of gods to function on this earth, to be sources of life, of comfort, of affirmation, of encouragement and provision etc. We are to function in these capacities in various ways for those around us and likewise we are to legitimately accept provisions and blessings from others. But we must always keep in mind while we are living in nurturing relationships with those around us that it is really God who is behind all of this as the original provider for all the things we need for life and for godliness. As we keep God as our highest priority and the most valued relationship of all the gods in our lives, we can then learn to live in joyful community with all the other lesser gods in His family, receiving and giving to each other as God's Spirit directs us.