WHEN IS HOT SAUCE GOOD?
Summary:
GOOD is defined by the judge. Those who like high concentrations of Capsaicin consider Ghost Peppers tasty.
GOOD is not an absolute. When that being considered moves the judge’s objective forward, then it is declared good.
God is GOOD all the time. “God causes all things to work together for good …. according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) If it accomplishes His purpose, then it is good.
Yet when we complain or grumble, we are informing God that WE know GOOD and that our judgement of what is GOOD is superior to His judgement of GOOD in this particular situation.
Do Christians need to rediscover the sovereignty of our Creator executed over His vast timeline and concede our short sightedness?
"The only possible answer, or so it seems, is to define goodness as that which brings about the inevitable, as set by God." Abarim Publications
When is Hot Sauce GOOD?
Depends on its concentration of Capsaicin AND who is eating it.
That oddly shaped pickle on the salad bar looked interesting to this naïve young man from Maine. I chomped it in half and started chewing. “Yowza! That ain’t no pickle!” Steven, meet mister jalapeño pepper.
Inconceivably, some of my friends find Ghost Pepper hot sauce enjoyable. They judge it as good, or even not hot enough. Me, I judge even a ‘mild’ hot sauce as bad, very bad.
‘GOOD’ is not an absolute that can be measured in liters or SHU’s. Rather, ‘Good’ or NOT good is determined by the judge of the food, talent, or event.
Essentially, the one in authority defines an event or person as good simply because it is advancing their objective.
Examples:
Firearms: Some consider guns as GOOD. Others consider guns NOT good.
Economy: If one’s income allows significant savings, then the economy is GOOD. If one’s income falls short of the essential, then the economy is NOT good.
Social Mores: When residents of Gaza attacked Israel, the ‘western world’ deemed those acts as NOT good. Yet many Muslim communities judged Hamas’ actions as justified and GOOD.
Democracy: The voting majority determine what is GOOD and NOT good. (The U.S. is not a democracy. Never was.)
Dictatorship: The top leader or “the State” determines what is GOOD and NOT good.
The Ultimate Judge:
If good is determined by the judge and our Creator is man’s supreme Judge, how does God determine what is GOOD and what is NOT good? Paul gives insight into the question in Romans 8:28:
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good …. according to His purpose.
That purpose is forwarding the Kingdom of God (See Philippians 2:9-11 and Ephesians 1:9ff). But for this blog, I will simply refer to it as ‘His purpose.’ Thus, whatever forwards the Almighty’s purpose is GOOD. And we know that God causes ALL things, not just some or most things, but ALL things to work together for good; according to His purpose.
That seems clear and straightforward.
Thus, when an earthquake kills hundreds of people, if it is part of accomplishing His purpose, then it is GOOD.
If that statement bothers you, then I did not stutter.
It bothers us because God’s ways are often different than our ways. Drastically different. This is the eternal, sovereign Creator, outside the constraints of time, intersecting with mortal man’s brief, time constrained life.
Consider a panoramic view of the Grand Canyon. It may be overwhelming and awe inspiring. But this is the Creator’s typical perspective. Yet, zooming way, way in, one notes a turtle struggling to crawl around a cactus. This turtle is little more than a couple of pixels in that vast vista. With his near-sighted perspective, the turtle cannot comprehend what an all-powerful, all-knowing, God Most High’s screenplay is for this grand vista. All the turtle sees are the few inches in front of his beak. Something big, the cactus, another few pixels, is in his way and he needs to crawl around it. You and I perceive life’s challenges as that turtle.
Now, imagine how that turtle might feel if the Creator reaches down, picks him up, and faces him in another direction. Perhaps the turtle would grumble: “What was my Creator thinking? It is hot and dry and now I have to go further and it will take more time and energy to get around that cactus.”
Now apply this fable to a coach and his athletes. Although he may often be seen as a sadist for the drills he conjures up, the obstacles do have a purpose for both the athlete and the team – at least for the several months of that season. Their suffering is moving the coach’s objective forward – to be a winning team with players who are better than when they started.
Although not enjoyable and often painful, the athlete is confident that the suffering is temporary and will make him a better athlete. Thus, he accepts the pain and suffering as a challenge, not a punishment, and moves forward, trusting the coach. And experiencing personal improvement does not hurt, either.
Personal Application:
When I insult God by grumbling about my circumstances, that complaining is informing the Lord God Most High that little ole me does not think He knows what is GOOD. It is the same as the athlete who grumbles about the demanding drill the coach has designed. The player does not trust the coach and only sees the sacrifice and pain before him, not the full season ahead where the benefits of that drill are revealed.
Followers of Jesus are in a life-long ‘season’ of drills, practices, wins, and losses. Yet that lifetime is but a few pixels in our Creator’s vast panoramic perspective. From that panoramic perspective, is it plausible that our Creator is causing “all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
Trusting Father is a choice based on the experience of others and the Spirit within.
Confidence that He is working all things for the GOOD grows with experiencing His reliability of working some of the “few pixel” things for the GOOD, both personally and for others.
And that experience increases one’s perspective beyond our few pixels to reveal surprising ways that Father is working all things together for GOOD.
It often requires decades of choosing to Trust and Wait to increase one’s perspective.
CALL TO ACTION:
Will you commit to studying the experiences of others to discover how they became confident that Father is working ALL THINGS together for GOOD? The Spirit may then build upon their experiences to develop your stories. These may then be reminders for yourself and examples for others.
Just ask and I can point you to others whom you may consider. Hebrews chapters 11 and 12 are a good place to start.
Endeavoring to Practice His Sovereignty,
