God in a Box

“You have ordered love, wisdom and power for your God. Would you like to add some patience and understanding to go with it?”
“Why would I want patience and understanding?”
“Well, knowing your God will have a helping of patience and understanding will make you feel less guilty of your sins.”
“OK.”
“Thank you, Ma’am. You may proceed to the next window to get your order. Enjoy your God.”

While this divine drive-through counter is fictitious, the idea behind it, sadly, is not.

Most people would have their custom-made version of God. For those who desire the flashiest car, the biggest house, and the latest cellphone model, God is a vending machine. You don’t need to feed coins to this Holy Vending Machine, just say the right prayer and it will automatically drop your requests in the vending slot. For those who wish for the most financially rewarding career, the most good-looking (and intelligent) spouse, and the sexiest figure, God is the Great Genie in the Sky. Upon hearing your cry for help, He will come to your side and turn the dreary existence you call life into an exciting adventure—with the snap of His fingers.

I have nothing against people thinking of God only as a kind of merciful and benevolent God, the Heavenly Father who desires what is best for His children. Jesus Himself after teaching the disciples how to pray prodded them to come to God when He said, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you (Luke 11:9).” What I am against, however, is the proliferation of this selfish belief among people in our generation that makes us think that God’s ultimate purpose of being our God is to give us what we want.

We live in a consumer society being entertained by the sound of ringing cash registers. Today more than ever before we are being offered every kind of product, every kind of service, every kind of convenience. To boost sales, every business’ guiding principle for service is “ The customer is king.” For who wouldn’t want that kind of royal treatment? If I am in a department store looking for the perfect shoes and willing to pay good money for my purchase, I know I deserve to be treated as I if I were Imelda Marcos. But shouldn’t that perception of self-importance be left within the premises of the mall and not be flashed around like a limited edition Gold Mastercard? Do we expect to be served hand and foot wherever we go?

Unfortunately, this spirit of consumerism has not just invaded our ego but has stealthily crept into our concept of God, in general, and our religion, in particular. One pastor-writer had some misgiving about a book that tells church leaders how they could “sell” their churches (and God) to the unchurched. I agree with him when he says that it is a reflection of how some Christians are using worldly gimmicks to accomplish a heavenly cause. But this pastor-writer is walking on a lonely road because not everyone feels the same way. The sad question is this: Have we put God in a box and hope that He is packaged attractively enough to be bought?

I am incapable of diving into the deep ocean of theology on the attributes of God. I would need a seminary degree, a master’s and a doctorate (plus 40 more years added to my age) to be able to do that. Rather, I am just wading through the puddle of people’s concept of God. Why is it that some of us try to fashion God according to our convenience and conscience? Can we really create our own individual versions of God? Can we confine God to the four sides of a box and expect Him to stay there and not act until we ask Him to?

I try to recall if there’s anybody who tried to size up God and succeeded. The Old Testament Job comes to mind. No, he wasn’t able to figure out who God really is and why He works the way He does. But he did get an answer from God in the form of questions. In the next four chapters after Chapter 37 of the book of Job, God challenged Job to answer His questions: “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you and you shall answer Me. Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions?” (Job 38:3-5) Job wasn’t able to answer any of God’s questions. But he came away with a more accurate understanding of who he is and who God is. In humility he admits, “I know You can do all things….Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things to wonderful for me to know” (Job 42:2-3).

I don’t want a Holy Vending Machine, or a Great Genie in the Sky, and I definitely don’t want a God I can put in a box. I would like to know the God who created the billions of stars in the galaxies and the almost invisible cells in my body. I would like to know the God who powerfully parted the Red Sea, who closely cared for His people in spite of their grumbling, who emphatically expressed righteous anger at the disobedience of His children. I would like to know the God who can span the universe with the breadth of His hand and with the same hand, heal the broken hearts of men.

A God small enough to fit into a box could never be big enough to deserve my reverence.