Tuesday, June 29, 2010

What Exactly Is It That You Believe?

During the past several months, Oklahoma has dealt with a plethora of nasty weather and, honestly, natural disasters. Last May, we were scorched by wildfire; in December, it was record-setting snow; in January, we had icepocalypse; in April and May, we received several nasty tornadoes, and less than two weeks later, still in May, we had one of the worst hail storms ever on record...anywhere. Oh, and let's not forget the floods from two weeks ago. I'm truly beginning to wonder when the locusts are coming, but I digress.

It's been interesting to see how my fellow Oklahomans (I despise the term Okie) have dealt with these issues. Some rely on prayer, some just pull out their boots and gloves, and still others donate time, goods, and money. The theme throughout the past year has seemed to be survival; it's truly cool to see everyone band together to help their fellow men.

A couple of weeks ago, shortly after the hail storm, J and I were driving through town and saw a church saw that was, most likely, meant to be inspirational. It said, "God didn't bring the hail, but he did bring the help."

Um...what?

If you believe that God is the root cause of everything, wouldn't you believe that he brought both the hail and the help? To believe that he brought one, but not the other, seems to me to be a little contracdictory.

Please understand that I'm not denigrating anyone for their beliefs; that's not my style. It just seems a little strange to me to say that you believe one thing, but then to pick and choose parts of it to actually believe, seemingly making it fit your every whim. Shouldn't we all believe what we will, but believe that way all of the time?

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