May
2007
God, You are my God!
By Barbara
My coworker rushed through the hallway shouting “Thank you, Jesus! Hallelujah! Thank you, Lord!”
Later that same afternoon we threw a goodbye party for this same staff member who is leaving us at the end of the month to build another career. After she was presented with her gift and cards and cake, she stood to say a few words. She looked around the room and called most of us by name, telling us what made her feel close to us or what we had done to make her feel loved.
In the process she began telling us what she would be doing in her new career - helping women heal from hurts – teaching groups and the like. And, then the words came that stopped me short - and I found I could no longer listen to her. My ears hummed and I felt my face flush.
She stood there and told us this . . .”you all deserve what you want out of life. We are gods. We are goddesses!” . . . and there was much more, but I had grown cold and hot all at once. I was listening to blasphemy being blatantly proclaimed in a place* where we Christians are not supposed to proclaim His name. Just earlier in the day I had heard her take my Lord’s name in vain, for that is all it could be.
How can one believe firmly that he or she is a god - and still proclaim that Jesus is Lord? I just don’t get it.
That night I shared the day with my husband. He heard me out and then said - “but we WILL be gods.”
“What?”
“It says it in the Bible - when Jesus comes back we will be gods with Him,” he continued.
“No, it says we will be like Him - not that we will be gods with/like Him.”
Rather than make it a huge argument - because it is not my place to teach him and because such discussions in the past have only led to pain, I stopped there. (My husband proclaimed belief in Jesus long ago, but does not live for Him.)
I cannot forget either my husband’s or her statements. Those words ring of idolatry. They take me right back to Genesis chapter 3 where the serpent tempted Eve with the words “and ye shall be as God . . .”
While I cannot give a whole answer as to why my coworker’s comments seemed to be blasphemy, I can fully agree that I am NOT a god(dess) nor do I want to be. I am comforted by the knowledge that my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His Father God and the Holy Spirit, in a blessed Trinity are the One and Holy God.
*I work for a non-profit agency and we are not to be blatant in our beliefs. For example, we have “holiday” parties, not Christmas parties!
The God, You are my God! by Violet Voices, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Written By: barbara
Posted under: Women's Voices . 
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Barbara:
In today’s world, where every one has their own truth, and they live out the lies of the enemy, it is unfortunate that what you heard is now common.
Vashti, thanks for your comment. You are correct in that this is a common theory and “truth” today. Isn’t that sad?
It is my prayer that I become more vocal about the Lord and what He has done and is doing in my life - while still being tolerant of others. It really is a very fine line.
But, I no longer hesitate to praise my Lord - even at work.
He is my God and Savior and King!
Be careful of being “tolerant”. I heard a speaker last fall at an interfaith event who said that he thinks Christians need to watch out for that. Not for the reason that some Christians say we do, a better reason. If I say to you “I tolerate you”, does that come across as nice or kind? Not so much. We are called to love others, not tolerate them.
Why not love others and let God do the rest? St. Francis of Assisi very famously said “Preach the Gospel always; if necessary, use words.” I think it’s great advice for a workplace like yours.
You were so right to stop listening. Obviously this person has no clue about the TRUTH. Compromise is one of satan’s number one tactics to dilute the Truth. Her words will not cause you to stumble in your faith, but what about immature christians or the unsaved? I believe that is where you will be able to have some input.
I know it is difficult to stay w/in the limits of the work environment when it comes to sharing the Gospel. I will be praying for you to have opportunities to refute false doctrine and bring the Truth to the forefront w/your co-workers.