“to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.” Ps.18.26 NIV
If a man has convinced himself that God is a tyrant, it may just be that for all perceived purposes He is, at least to him. What I mean is that God has given us the freedom to choose the way we see Him. Such freedom is necessary for any meaningful love. But choice also makes possible a very real hate. Choosing to believe what we want to believe and we all certainly do that, will inevitably lock us into a self made prison of prejudices. And, if someone sees God a certain way, then no matter what God does, that person will interpret all His actions by the prejudices he has toward Him. This is why some people see suffering as discipline from a loving Father and others see it as a cruel experiment from a callous and uncaring deity. God is as God is but sometimes He is to us as we have judged Him to be. Praise Him that grace can overcome even our prejudices. 3/11/2009 Conversations Within ts