DANGERS OF A RENTED GOD & WHY YOU NEED YOUR GOD

When people criticize African Christians for abandoning the gods of their forefathers for the “God” of the white man, they are saying – unknown to them – that there is more than one God or there is more than one way that “one God” has ordained for each race or tribe to reach Him. It is most likely the former that they imply. But there is no doubt one Creator of the Universe, the Sovereign God. Christians have not rented the God of Israel. They have come to know the One True God, Creator of the Universe, the Sovereign One. The same God we knew about even in traditional religion as the Overall Boss of the Universe is the one Christians have come to know as their Savior in Jesus Christ. The difference is, we believe the salvation in Jesus Christ is God’s only ordained means by which we can have a true relationship whereas the traditional religions seek to reach the same God (at least they have some idea) through ancestral spirits, carved woods, libation etc.

There is however the danger of renting another’s God even as Christians. This is when we hide behind the religion of our parents or pastors and refuse to know their God – the LORD – for ourselves. This sets us up for backsliding like it did in the case of the Israelites and Aaron.

You might have heard of the story of the Golden Calf which Aaron made for the Israelites while Moses tarried on the Mountain of Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments. The Bible says that the people pushed Aaron into making the idol because Moses had delayed and they thought he was dead.

Thus, the people, just like all of us, knew intrinsically that there was need for a “God” in their journey. But the kind of worship they were exposed to in Egypt was the worship of visible physical “gods”. Please remember that God had to introduce Himself to Moses when he encountered Him. Moses revealed that he wanted to know God’s name in other to make proper reference of Him when he goes to redeem the Israelites. God told Moses that He was the “I AM THAT I AM” but will best be remembered as the God of their fathers. (Exodus 3:13-15) We can infer that this generation of Israelites did not really know God on the level Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph knew Him, nor at the level Moses came to know Him.

However, by the grace of God, they knew the works of God (not His ways). They saw the mighty acts of God through Moses. And as long as Moses was there as their prophet and intermediary, they cared not to know God for themselves. The last time God got very direct with them, they run and virtually hid behind Moses. They asked Moses to listen to God and do the communication because they would not hear God for themselves. The scene was new and fearsome. The burden of God’s holiness was too much for them. They called the Prophet to stand in and be an intermediary. These people did not know God.

And they said to Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear, but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

Exodus 20:19 (ACV)

When Moses failed to come back down the mountain right away, the people went to Aaron. “Look,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. This man Moses, who brought us here from Egypt, has disappeared. We don’t know what has happened to him.”

Exodus 32:1 (NLT)

Now, Moses was feared dead and they needed a “God” by all means. And because they – including Aaron and their leaders – didn’t know the LORD, Aaron made them an idol. And they happily served it. They made a new god and gave it the old glory and the new hopes. They said the calf was the one who brought them out of Egypt (Exo. 32:4). By all means, there should be a “god” in the story. They didn’t know Moses’ God, so they gave the glory to a gold calf.

This is the danger in following the God of others and not having God for yourself. This is the danger in living on rented prayers, hiring prophets and renting apostles for your blessing. This is the danger in outsourcing your spirituality to a certain pastor. This is the danger in not fasting and praying but rather buying provisions for a prophetic guru to do it on your behalf. This is the danger in living on the prayer of your parents and not building a devotional life for yourself. This is the danger in praying to the God of your Founder and never knowing Him as your own God. This is the danger you must flee.

You must have God for yourself because no prophet lives forever. No pastor lives forever. Moses will die one day. If he isn’t dead yet, he will take leave one day. One day, your pastors number won’t go through when you call. One day, that prophet won’t be available. One day, the anointed Papa or Mama may even backslide and denounce the faith. Now, where is your God?

Where is your own God that you can call on at midnight and He will respond? Where is your own God that you can take a break, enter the washroom and talk to Him? Where is your God? Is He a number saved on your phone or a trip away to the mountains? Is He somewhere seated in a holy land on a golden seat in a temple? Is your God having sex by this time with his wife and can’t answer your call? Is your God sick and bedridden? Is your God weak today and haven’t even prayed for himself? Where is your own God that you can rely on any day, anytime, every moment? Where is the God, not of the fathers, but of your own life?

When Moses died, God introduced Himself to Joshua as the God of Moses and his fathers but concluded by telling Joshua that He (Yahweh) was Joshua’s God also. God told Joshua, “the LORD your God is with you.” (Joshua 1:9) Is the LORD your God? Or you are still living solely on proxy prayers? Is the Father of our Savior Jesus your Father, or you have rented Jesus’ name? Indeed, if you have Jesus Christ, you have God – for He is God. If you see Him, you have seen the Father. But I ask whether your understanding of salvation is that it’s an insurance Jesus simply pays for you, or you know that Jesus reconciles you with the Sovereign LORD and you need to nurture a relationship with the Invisible God?

Unless you know that you can relate practically with the Invisible God, you may make idols unto yourself? You may make idols from the remains of a prophet or even from the testimonies of the past. But I do not pray this for you! Know God, for yourself.

The gold Prophet Moses made the Israelites receive from the Egyptians suddenly became the god. This is why many have made the graveyard of a certain founder their strong tower. Some are into the worship of ghosts, ancestral worship. Many are worshipping bottles of oil and pieces of clothes. They’re trying every remote means to connect to their “god” again. They do not know the LORD God for themselves. The miracle became an idol. Some are worshipping the very testimonies God gave them, instead of the God of the testimonies. They are worshipping their money (gold), marriage, business, child – everything but God.

No! Know God for yourself! A ‘rented’ God won’t last long. We are to HAVE God, not to borrow Him.

Heavenly Father, help us know you. We want to know you personally, to be devoted to you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.