My good friend Ty brought my attention to the blog Stuff Christian Culture Likes blog and their entry It’s a God thing:
“”It’s a God thing” is a phrase frequently spoken in Christian culture. It is always said in response to something good that has happened. “It’s a God thing” can be said about anything perceived to be good such as miracles of healing, finding a parking space, or Proposition 8 passing.It is not said when something bad happens. When met with bad news, you are more likely to hear someone say “It was God’s will.”
How exactly did we get from believing in Yahwey as the:
“personal name of the one true God who delivered Israel from Egypt and gave the Ten Commandments”
to saying that anything that is good is “a God thing” and anything that is bad is “God’s Will”?. If you Google “It’s a God thing” the first hit is www.itsagodthing.biz where their slogan is
“Proclaiming our faith! One Shirt at a time”
This reminds me of my friend Ryan and a shirt he wears:
(editors note: that is not actually Ryan wearing the t-shirt, although Ryan is just as strikingly handsome as this t-shirt model)
The sarcasm in this t-shirt would be funny if it weren’t so real. Under the thin veil of these blogs and t-shirts there lies a deep dysfunction in how we are living in relation to the One who created us. How have we become a culture that allows us to be defined by one or two slogans? My brain wants to expode when I see bumper stickers like this:
If you don’t have many “God things” happening in your life don’t worry there is a
“30-minute radio program devoted exclusively to very personal, verified interviews with folks like you and me who have experienced God in an unusual, often dramatic, way”
Lest you be confused, this is not a rant against “God Things” in general. God is at work in this world in very real and tangible ways. Instead, this is a rant against people trying to substitute a personal relationship for convenience (see Facebook, Twitter, T-Shirts, Bumper Stickers, etc.). I have never seen a t-shirt for anything that made me want to seek a personal relationship because of a slogan. Please people, engage in the raw and real of one life instead of becoming a billboard for corny marketing phrases.
Well said. What a sad indictment on our culture. It reminds me of the quote by Ghandi: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”