God: President & CEO

Here is a quote from one of my favorite spiritual works, "God Calling" by A.J. Russell; that helps put our relationship with the Lord in proper context. The selection is titled, "Know Your Rights",

"In every thing by prayer and supplications let your requests be made known unto God."  (Philippians 4:6) But do not beg.  Rather come just as a business manager bringing to the owner the needs, checks to be signed, etc., and knowing that to lay the matter before him means immediate supply.
I long to supply, but the asking-or the faith-assurance from you, is necessary, because to you that contact with me is vital."  (Message for Feb 20)

I particularly love this quote because it highlights the way God wants us to come to him.   As the world's greatest president and CEO God is telling us, his managers to chill out, to just make our requests known and that he will take care of the rest.  But why is this so hard to accomplish?  I believe that there are many reasons for this, but I think that the main reason is that we are scared of disappointment. Let's face it - every human being has been let down, betrayed, and hurt by another. So why would one expect anything different from God?  Although understandable, the danger is that we have a tendency of viewing God more like a friend then the sovereign, all powerful, omniscient creator of the universe. We have lost the feeling of awe, a sense of the greatness of God. We must always remember that God is not like us, he is divine and perfect, he will not let us down if we are faithful and expectant in our requests.

Interesting point though - the passage actually confirms the saying " God helps those who help themselves"  It's true:  the quote basically says to prepare things on your end, set things in motion,  do the next right thing as best as you can - then - hand it over to  God  to ........get it done, sign the checks, polish it all up, and fix it.

 I admit that this notion is foreign to our American lifestyle.  Our culture constantly teaches us to be self reliant, independent, strong willed, etc.  While all these characteristics might be good in their proper context, they simply can't exist in a vacuum.  What this quote is teaching us instead is to give up these traits and to develop a more dependent mindset.  Wow what a radical concept!  Being dependent on someone else?  Ugh!  I shudder when I think about this.  But in order to grow in holiness we must all become more like children instead of meddling adults constantly trying to run our lives without the help of the heavenly CEO.

God made a wise choice to hire us as managers in the business of running our own lives.  Likewise, it is up to a good manager to do a good job and to know when to bring the big issues to the attention of the owner.  God will take it from there....  and it will all work out.

Comments

  1. Marco, I know you mean well, I actually take a bit of offense at calling God either a president or CEO. Those are appointed positions, and positions appointed by peers no less. God is our King, indeed the King of Kings. A king doesn't rule because he is selected to rule, he rules because of who he is, and based on this essential nature, has true and rightful authority over his domain. To call men kings is to show how they emulate God and how their authority comes from God, and thus elevates the man. To call God a CEO or president brings him down to our level.

    Full transparently: I'm an unabashed monarchist who would go to war to restore Archduke Karl von Hapsburg to his rightful position as Emperor of Austria and Apostolic King of Hungary, which is his birthright, along with his grandfather, Bl. Emperor Karl I, Bl. Emperor Charlemagne, and Emperor Maximillian I, who arranged to be buried under the altar at the chapel of St. George, so that when the priest knelt after consecrating the Eucharist, he'd feel the priest's knee on his breast.

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  2. Aaron, you are someone that I look up to when it comes to intellectual and historical knowledge. However, I was surprised by your comment about bringing God "down to our level" since I articulated that exact same concern in my post as I wrote:
    "Although understandable, the danger is that we have a tendency of viewing God more like a friend then the sovereign, all powerful, omniscient creator of the universe. We have lost the feeling of awe, a sense of the greatness of God. We must always remember that God is not like us, he is divine and perfect, he will not let us down if we are faithful and expectant in our requests."

    Clearly, I agree with you that we should never try to bring God down to our level. Referring to God as President and CEO was just a way of making God understandable in our time. I'm certain that the author of that passage in "God Calling" was making a larger point by calling God President and CEO just as Jesus often did in scripture with His parables. Jesus described God as being land owner, money lender, or even a rich man to help his audience comprehend the deeper spiritual meanings of his teachings. Using common titles to draw a picture of God helped Jesus to illustrate His larger point. My aim is the same. My readership consists of people from a variety of backgrounds and faith levels. Something about that passage in "God Calling" really affected me. I wanted to share its pragmatic and sensible message with my readers. I find it very comforting to know that my Lord only asks for my effort and then he controls the outcome. An owner of a business is pleased when his general manager goes above and beyond the call of duty, but at some point, there are things that need to be brought to the attention of owner of the company to finalize the deal. I love this analogy to depict the relationship between the creator of the Universe and mankind.

    If I failed to explain this fully, I do apologize. I respect your opinion. Thank you for that feedback.

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