The Many Flavors of God!

Warning!!!   This blog will offend someone!

What I’m going to do is share what I perceive is some of the many "flavors" of God that people have created as they have developed thier views and understanding of God and Jesus.   It’s really from personal experience, personal observation and a general understanding of people – especially in America.  So as I go through these various “flavors” please take in mind that these are just my opinion of how people perceive God and/or Jesus.  Here we go: 

Warning!!!   This blog will offend someone!

What I’m going to do is share what I perceive is some of the many "flavors" of God that people have created as they have developed thier views and understanding of God and Jesus.   It’s really from personal experience, personal observation and a general understanding of people – especially in America.  So as I go through these various “flavors” please take in mind that these are just my opinion of how people perceive God and/or Jesus.  Here we go: 

Cosmic Kill Joy God – This is where God does not accept anything but perfection and everything else is simply not good enough.  An “A” Type God sitting on a large list of rules and regulations that require strict attention to detail.  Too many people have turned from this God simply because they couldn’t keep up with His long lists.

Good ol’ Boy God – With a Good ol’ Boy God unless you killed someone or you’re a rapist, God isn’t going to send you to Hell.  It’s more of loose system of rules that are determined by the moral compass of the Good ol’ Boy.   In short, Good ol’ Boy God simply forgives most sin and with an “aw-shucks” attitude sort of sweeps our little sins under the rug.   Oh and by the way, most Good ol’ boy sins are just little sins and since they are not really hurting anyone, God’s alright with it.  Don't forget to pray at Easter Sunday and all will be good with Good ol' Boy God for the rest of the year. 

Conservative White-North American Republican Jesus– I believe there is a large group of Americans that truly believe that Jesus is a tall, white, All-American man with good old fashioned conservative values and of course is a staunch Republican.  They believe he listens to Rush and has a “NoBama” bumper sticker on his white Chevy Suburban.   Many of the original “Jesus” movies certainly portrayed Jesus like this…well…except without the white Chevy Surburban of course. 

Liberal Anti-Establishment Jesus – I also believe there is a large group of Americans that truly believe that Jesus is a radical, long haired hippy-ish, Anti-Establishment guy.  Here the belief is that Jesus was the original Liberal that looked at the world as a whole and not individually and believes in the Robin Hood theory of equality.  This Jesus likes electric cars, hemp clothing and vegans but hates big oil, guns and the death penalty.

Genie God – This is a really interesting one because while God can provide anything and everything we wish, he ultimately has control on what he decides he’s going to bless us with.  That’s the problem! With the Genie God we want control of this and with the Genie God we believe we need to start every prayer with a request.  Oh don’t get me wrong, people who have a Genie God will certainly praise Him when he provides the “thing” that they need but when he doesn’t…well then…back in the bottle He goes!

Convenient God – I could probably rename this “Pocket God” since with this God we pull Him out of our pocket any time we need him.  He’s like a combo of Genie God and a cell phone.  Here it’s all a matter of convenience and when things are going rough or you have questions, you pull out the Pocket God and ask for direction.  Otherwise, the person with a Pocket God doesn’t really need him… since, after all that kind of person has “it” all under control for the most part. 

No God – This is exactly what it sounds like except it’s more about a person who is almost boastful that they don’t believe in God and walk around with a “See? I don’t need God and I have a great life” type of bravado.  In general this person appears great on the outside but is a wreck on the inside – and of course…would never admit it…ever! Pride consumes this person and we all know what comes right before the fall don’t we?  Read Proverbs 16:18 and share with the No God person.

We’re all God God – Have you ever heard the statement “believe in yourself?”  I have too and I often try to live my live with the belief that I can accomplish most anything.  I think that’s fine most of the time but with the “We’re all God God” there’s that belief that we indeed have the ability to accomplish “anything” we desire without really needing an outside God to help us.  This goes hand in hand with the No God belief except at least this person acknowledges there’s a God…it’s just that the God they believe in is themselves.  Some “religions” live and breathe by this doctrine!

Material God  – This is the material things in people’s lives that they worship instead of the real God – TV, celebrities, food, their house, their cars, their clothes, their looks, their money, their work, their vacations, their “stuff” and many times…their children.  The Material God is disposable and changeable and it follows trends.  It’s power driven and feeds on envy and pride. This God is one of the best tools of the devil because it completely distracts from the real God.

Ok I have to stop here because I actually could go on all day.  I hate to admit this but I’m quite certain that I’ve worshipped or related with every God I mention above at some point in my life.  I’m glad that I’ve grown enough now to have a more humbling sense of God and His true awesomeness!  There is only one God and the good news is – He isn’t any of the above Gods…He’s perfect and just and He loves you and me beyond words. 

How many other “Flavors” of God can you think of?

Be Blessed,

Brian