Why can't we blame God for things that happen?

[WowLookaDuck]

God is sovereign. Why is it wrong to blame him for things that happen in our lives? 

[Tzephanyahu]

5 hours ago, WowLookaDuck said:

God is sovereign. Why is it wrong to blame him for things that happen in our lives? 

Shalom, 

I mean you no ill-will friend when I write this: Watch the things you say so casually. 

It's one thing to pose a question to an online forum, but it will be quite another when you have to give account for  these words before the Creator - which we all will need to do one day. 

So if you wouldn't say "I blame you" to the Creator of all things, on his glorious throne of light surrounded by thousands upon thousands of His angels, then don't say it here either. 

Yahweh, the Creator, gave this world into the hands of man. Man gave the authority to the devil. The world has been falling apart ever since then.  It is remarkable that man and the world has lasted as long as it has, and it's surely down to the grace of Yahweh and His perfect intervention when it's necessary. 

So, the fact you are alive today, in 2020, and well enough and wealthy enough to be able to ask questions in an open Christian forum is a blessing that you should be grateful for, rather than an opportunity to look who to blame. 

Yes, sometimes Yahweh uses methods which we don't comprehend with our limited understanding, wisdom and short portion of time.  But then, if we see an incident occur we don't understand, can we ever be on such a moral and logical high-ground that we can look down on God and say "I blame you"? 

What if He replied to you "Very well, then I won't bother you with any more years." 

Again, I mean you no ill-will friend, honestly. But rather I'm raising the alarm bells, for your sake, as it's a dangerous attitude to have. 

I'm sure the question was just phrased poorly though and you didn't mean it that way.  It wouldn't be unlike me to phrase something poorly as well sometimes! 

Love & Shalom 

Edited August 11, 2020 by Tzephanyahu

[Who me]

5 hours ago, WowLookaDuck said:

God is sovereign. Why is it wrong to blame him for things that happen in our lives? 

Welcome to the forum. Why is it wrong to blame God for what happens?

One reason is the assumption that one knows better than God what should happen in our lives.

Another is the assumption that what happens is not deserved or is not our fault.

You or other may protest at the apparent callousness if this last one. But turn it around, on what basis would you say that anyone has a right to a better life.  Fairness/equality ok but judged on what basis, rights! Rights to what?

 

Asking this question means you believe that there is a God.

So what of God's right to obedience from his creation?

 

 

[Billiards Ball]

12 hours ago, WowLookaDuck said:

God is sovereign. Why is it wrong to blame him for things that happen in our lives? 

It is an it isn't. David and the prophets cried out to a sovereign God during trials, but realized God had deeper plans, blessings.

[missmuffet]

Question: "Is it wrong to blame God? Is blaming God a sin?"

Answer: Blaming God is a common response when life doesn’t go our way. Since God is supposedly in control of everything, the thinking goes, He could have stopped what happened. He could have changed the situation to benefit me; He could have averted the calamity. Since He did not, He is to blame.

In one sense, those statements are true. Isaiah 45:7 seems to validate the idea that God is to blame for everything that happens: “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.” And Isaiah 46:9–11: “Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. . . . I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ . . . What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do.” If God is willing to take responsibility for everything, then is it wrong to blame Him when disaster or heartache strikes us?

The word blame means “to find fault with.” Blaming goes beyond acknowledging God’s sovereignty. Blaming God implies that He messed up, that there is a fault to be found in Him. When we blame God, we make ourselves His judge and jury. But mere human beings have no right to pass judgment on the Almighty. We are His creation; He is not ours: “Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’? Woe to the one who says to a father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to a mother, ‘What have you brought to birth?’” (Isaiah 45:9–10).

To help avoid blaming God, we must first understand why heartache and pain are a part of our lives. Sin is at the root of every harsh and evil act. God did not design the human body or soul to live in a sinful world. We were created perfectly to dwell in a perfect world (Genesis 1—2). But the sin of Adam brought devastation and disaster into God’s perfect world. Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, droughts—ultimately, all natural disasters are here because of sin (Genesis 3:17–19). Our own sinful choices create a ripple effect that echoes throughout our lives. And the sin of others affects us as well. Earthly trouble is a reminder that sin has terrible consequences, so, before we blame God for a crisis, we must examine our own lives and be honest about choices that could have led to it.

Second, we need to examine our own relationship with God. It is puzzling that many people who never give God a thought while doing their own thing become very religious when disaster strikes. They live for themselves 99 percent of the time, as if there were no God. But then tragedy strikes, and suddenly it is God’s fault. Not only is this irrational, but it is insulting to the Creator, who has already given us everything we need to have a relationship with Him.

Of course, having a right relationship with the Lord does not exempt us from suffering terrible heartaches. What do we do when disaster strikes us? Often, Christians are tempted to blame God when the suffering comes. We have a tendency to follow the advice of Job’s wife to her suffering husband: “Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9).

Instead of blaming God, Christians can run to Him for comfort (Proverbs 18:10; Psalm 34:18). Christians have a promise that the unbelieving world cannot claim. Romans 8:28 says that “all things work together for the good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” Some quote this verse and stop after the word good, but that is a misuse of Scripture. God placed two qualifiers after this promise that define its limits: the promise is “to those who love God” and to those “called according to His purpose.”

Instead of blaming God, those who love Him can face tragedy with the assurance that nothing can harm them that God did not allow for a good and loving reason. He allows difficult things, even suffering and death, for His own higher purposes. When we desire God’s will for our lives, prioritizing it over our own will, He wastes nothing. No suffering, heartache, loss, or pain is wasted in the lives of God’s own people. He transforms our grief and loss into a platform for future ministry. He uses the difficulties to strengthen us, giving us greater opportunities to store up treasure in heaven than we would have had without the pain (Matthew 6:20). Instead of blaming God, we “give thanks in everything” (Ephesians 5:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:18).

We acknowledge that God can intervene in any situation; when He does not intervene, and tragedy ensues, we should stop short of blaming Him for wrongdoing. In all that Job suffered, “he did not sin by charging the Lord with wrongdoing” (Job 1:22). Instead of blaming God, who had allowed such overwhelming loss, Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:15). God honored Job’s response and blessed him mightily after he passed the test. God wants to bless us as well with greater understanding, deeper devotion, and eternal reward that can never be taken away. When we are tempted to blame God, we can choose Job’s response and trust that He knows what He is doing (see Psalm 131).

Question: "Is it wrong to blame God? Is blaming God a sin?"

Answer: Blaming God is a common response when life doesn’t go our way. Since God is supposedly in control of everything, the thinking goes, He could have stopped what happened. He could have changed the situation to benefit me; He could have averted the calamity. Since He did not, He is to blame.

In one sense, those statements are true. Isaiah 45:7 seems to validate the idea that God is to blame for everything that happens: “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.” And Isaiah 46:9–11: “Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. . . . I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ . . . What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do.” If God is willing to take responsibility for everything, then is it wrong to blame Him when disaster or heartache strikes us?

The word blame means “to find fault with.” Blaming goes beyond acknowledging God’s sovereignty. Blaming God implies that He messed up, that there is a fault to be found in Him. When we blame God, we make ourselves His judge and jury. But mere human beings have no right to pass judgment on the Almighty. We are His creation; He is not ours: “Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’? Woe to the one who says to a father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to a mother, ‘What have you brought to birth?’” (Isaiah 45:9–10).

To help avoid blaming God, we must first understand why heartache and pain are a part of our lives. Sin is at the root of every harsh and evil act. God did not design the human body or soul to live in a sinful world. We were created perfectly to dwell in a perfect world (Genesis 1—2). But the sin of Adam brought devastation and disaster into God’s perfect world. Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, droughts—ultimately, all natural disasters are here because of sin (Genesis 3:17–19). Our own sinful choices create a ripple effect that echoes throughout our lives. And the sin of others affects us as well. Earthly trouble is a reminder that sin has terrible consequences, so, before we blame God for a crisis, we must examine our own lives and be honest about choices that could have led to it.

Second, we need to examine our own relationship with God. It is puzzling that many people who never give God a thought while doing their own thing become very religious when disaster strikes. They live for themselves 99 percent of the time, as if there were no God. But then tragedy strikes, and suddenly it is God’s fault. Not only is this irrational, but it is insulting to the Creator, who has already given us everything we need to have a relationship with Him.

Of course, having a right relationship with the Lord does not exempt us from suffering terrible heartaches. What do we do when disaster strikes us? Often, Christians are tempted to blame God when the suffering comes. We have a tendency to follow the advice of Job’s wife to her suffering husband: “Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9).

Instead of blaming God, Christians can run to Him for comfort (Proverbs 18:10; Psalm 34:18). Christians have a promise that the unbelieving world cannot claim. Romans 8:28 says that “all things work together for the good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” Some quote this verse and stop after the word good, but that is a misuse of Scripture. God placed two qualifiers after this promise that define its limits: the promise is “to those who love God” and to those “called according to His purpose.”

Instead of blaming God, those who love Him can face tragedy with the assurance that nothing can harm them that God did not allow for a good and loving reason. He allows difficult things, even suffering and death, for His own higher purposes. When we desire God’s will for our lives, prioritizing it over our own will, He wastes nothing. No suffering, heartache, loss, or pain is wasted in the lives of God’s own people. He transforms our grief and loss into a platform for future ministry. He uses the difficulties to strengthen us, giving us greater opportunities to store up treasure in heaven than we would have had without the pain (Matthew 6:20). Instead of blaming God, we “give thanks in everything” (Ephesians 5:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:18).

We acknowledge that God can intervene in any situation; when He does not intervene, and tragedy ensues, we should stop short of blaming Him for wrongdoing. In all that Job suffered, “he did not sin by charging the Lord with wrongdoing” (Job 1:22). Instead of blaming God, who had allowed such overwhelming loss, Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:15). God honored Job’s response and blessed him mightily after he passed the test. God wants to bless us as well with greater understanding, deeper devotion, and eternal reward that can never be taken away. When we are tempted to blame God, we can choose Job’s response and trust that He knows what He is doing (see Psalm 131).
 

Edited August 11, 2020 by missmuffet

[LonerAndy]

On 8/10/2020 at 8:58 PM, WowLookaDuck said:

God is sovereign. Why is it wrong to blame him for things that happen in our lives? 

Because we have free will.

You can stop your kids from every doing anything wrong in life.  How you do that, is by chaining them up, and dictating every aspect of their lives.

Then because they have no ability to make a choice, and every action or lack of action, is because you dictated it.... then it would be your fault for anything that happened to your kids.

But you can't do that can you?   Your parents can't control every action, or lack of action, that you take in life.   So you can't blame them for what happens to you in this life, can you?

I had a roommate that ate two chocolate cakes.... because they wanted to.  No restraint.    A year later, they were complaining to me that they had Diabetes.

Well yeah.  That's sort of what happens when you eat irresponsibly.   It wasn't their parents fault.  Or the government.  Or the store that sold the cake.  Or the sugar producers.  Or the baker who iced the cake.  And it wasn't G-d who did it either.

It was them.  They made the choice.

This is true of all life.

I hear this with women sometimes, where they go out late at night, they go alone to a party, they drink alcohol at the party, and then they complain that they had sex with some guy.

Trying to find someone to blame, when they made choices all the way into the situation.

Now are there some things we have no control of?  Sure.   Cancer happens.  Hurricanes and Earth quakes.

This is a fallen world.  When G-d created this world it was perfect.  Man sinned, and messed up the world.   How does that work?

Yeah, I don't know.  Not smart enough.  Don't have enough degrees.  Not paid enough to figure it out.   You'll have to ask someone better than me.

But what I do know, is bad stuff happens.  G-d isn't directing every single lighting bolt from the sky.  Nor is he flicking the Earth with his finger every time there is an Earth Quake.

Bad stuff happens.  It just is, what it is.

Here's all you need to know.....  We're here for a short time.  Then we go to our eternal destiny.

Eccl 12:13

Now all has been heard;
    here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
    for this is the duty of all mankind.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
    including every hidden thing,
    whether it is good or evil.

[Jayne]

Everything unhappy or sinful or painful or bad in our lives is caused by these things:

• A direct attack from the devil - such as intrusive thoughts or the never-ending assault on the mind/heart for hate, porn, and more.
• Our own sin and therefore consequences - such as overeating for years and ending up losing a limb to diabetes.
• Someone else's sin and therefore consequences - such as being someone being killed by a drunk driver and the spouse of the deceased growing a bitter hatred for that person that never goes away.
• Or natural causes of this world due to sin in general - such as my father dying two years ago from a stroke.  The wages of sin is death.  He was a mighty Christian, but that Biblical rule applies to all.  Saved or not.

Notice I do not have God on that list.

Nothing bad in this world can be blamed on God.  The Bible says that God does not sin, tempt people, nor is he guilty of blame of any kind.

 

[CaptWalker]

Because you are a believer, and don't have that right, as non-believers do and will be judged for, period. God is Love, but also is Pain, and the two go hand in hand so often. Thats the short answer, and i'm thinking you are not really wanting to know what the long answer is...even if i knew it??

[CaptWalker]

Yes, they in a sense have the right to do whatever they want because they will be going to Hell for it. They can get away with blaming God for all there troubles, and God will not chastise them but He will His children who are disobedient.(Hebrews-12:7-8) And Christ suffered enough PAIN for all of humanity for all time to be forgiven, and so I also must believe YHVH the Father felt that same PAIN that His only begotten Son experienced, which was the greatest sacrifice for us but obviously not an exemption from our normal human sufferings, duh?? And not to mention the endless prayer requests i have come across here and elsewhere from professing Christians going through both mental/emotional and physical PAIN...but it's all a part of God's ultimate plan.   

Edited August 15, 2020 by CaptWalker

[Faithwilldo]

I did not notice anyone giving any scriptures above.  All I read above was opinions.  Here is what scripture says.  

Isa 45:5-7  I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Amos 3:6  Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

Isa 54:16  Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

Ecc 1:13  An experience of evil God has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it.

Ecc 7:13  Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?

Prov 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Lam 3:38   Out of the mouth of the Most High doth not there proceed evil and good?

Isa 63:17   O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear?

Job 2:10   But he said to her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. We have also received good from God, and should we not receive evil?

Dan 4:35  And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he doeth according to his will in the army of the heavens, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? 

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good (including the evil that God has created) to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Matt 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Jer 10:23  I know, Jehovah, that the way of man is not his own; it is not in a man that walketh to direct his steps. (Darby)

Isa 26:12  O Jehovah, Thou appointest peace to us, For, all our works also Thou hast wrought for us.

God is responsible for all things that happen, including good and evil.  However with God (not mankind), God has the ability to use evil for His good and loving purposes.  

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good (including the evil that God has created) to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Edited August 15, 2020 by Faithwilldo