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“Nothing” Makes God Angry
Spoiler alert. Actually, “nothing” makes God very angry.
I have been studying sin, temptations and trials for a while
now as I wright on the subjects. One idea that caught my redneck mystic
attention is the idea of “nothingness”. There is the philosophical notion of “nothing”
as well as Biblical words which contain the meaning of “nothing.” So when
philosophy and Theology meet, it’s time for a redneck – right!
I first came across the idea of “nothing” while reading “faith
Hope Love” by Josef Pieper, published in 1997 by Ignatius Press. This is a
collection of three works of Josef which, I believe, took over thirty five
years in the writing. For me, it was a great read. Producing fruit for God and
content for life and sermons, and now, my own expressions on “nothing.” There
are a verity of words in the Bible that can be translated “nothing.” One of
those (Strong’s reference number H1892) is translated “vanity,” “idol,” and “nothing.”
Here is one of the references with the word highlighted.
Deuteronomy 32:21
'They have made Me jealous with what is not God; They have provoked
Me to anger with their idols. So I
will make them jealous with those who
are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation,
The people had turned to what was not God. A study of “all
things” in Ephesians or in the New Testament will help us discover that God is
the maker of “all things.” Everything that is, was created by Him. The stuff
that exists, the stuff we make ourselves that is not of Him, is nothing. That
is how a man can make an idol which is nothing. If man makes things within the realm
of God, they make something. It is when we give our lives to nothing that God
is angered.
Colossians 1:16
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created
through Him and for Him.
All the stuff that is “not nothing,” is created through Him.
This includes what we tend to call the “good
stuff” and also the “bad stuff.” “Bad stuff” being demons, fallen angles and
the like. Even invisible stuff is not nothing, it was made by God. So when you
are out in the woods sitting in your deer blind and you brother calls you on
your cell phone, when he asks, “what are you doing,” you don’t want to say, “nothing.”
For doing nothing is doing something that is outside of God and thus sin. It is
missing the mark in the biggest sense and any hunter knows you don’t want to
miss the target. The first passage above shows us that we can anger God through
our involvement with nothing. How sad it is that we humans reject all of
creation, all the good intentions of the Lord, all His plans for joy and happiness
and turn and seek or make our own happiness out of nothing.
The word often translated “idols” in the Old Testament is a
word of nothing. I think the translators would have helped us understand God
rightly if they would have kept “nothing” instead of “idols.” It would help us
see things as the Lord sees things. How many times have we turned to our own
works, our own imaginations, and our own efforts to make us happy and healthy?
So the next time you want to sin, ask yourself if you want
to turn to nothing in order to find happiness. Can choosing stuff outside the
creation of God bring you life, joy or success? Can you see that it really is “God’s
way or no way” because everything apart from Him is nothing. Even Jesus did not
do anything that He did not see the Father of Heaven doing. I guess Jesus didn’t
want to waste His life by doing nothing.
So the next time you are tempted to visit an internet site
to fill a hunger or purchase something at the store or restaurant to meet a
need, ask the Lord if you are turning to nothing. When you are tired and weak,
yet tempted to turn to a way apart from God, ask God to help you see the
nothing that is masquerading as something. Whenever I do this I discover a voice
within me saying, “how can nothing help, it’s nothing.”
OK, I might not have done a great job like Pieper, but you
might never read his, so I thought I would share with you the truth that
nothing can make God angry.
One side note. My hope town and favorite hills got some early snow. Was that nothing or something? Picture form http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/crime/2014/09/11/inches-possible-black-hills/15434275/
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