Who’s in Charge?

If you have followed this blog for any length of time you know I dislike the expression “God is in charge.” It isn’t because I think He isn’t, but because when we say God is in charge, we want Him to take over. We get lazy when God is in charge.

Today’s Gospel lesson is an example of our laziness. When faced with a storm at sea, rather than using their skills as professional fishermen, the disciples called to Jesus, “Do you not care if we perish?”

The Lord said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?”

Mark 4.35-41

Some people don’t like when I say God isn’t charge. For many that means I don’t believe He is all-powerful. Some think it means I don’t believe He can save us ‘if’ He wants to. Of course, I believe God is in charge. Being The One in charge is why He gives us free will.

In today’s Gospel we see how much He is in charge. “Even the wind and sea obey Him.” WE are the ones who choose not to obey God. WE are the ones who storm through life destroying our friends, family and coworkers with our free will. WE are the ones to blame, not God.

You see, if we go around saying God is in charge, then when something horrible happens we blame God. Why didn’t God stop the poor baby from being abused and killed? Yes, He could have but that would mean interfering with human free will. God won’t do that.

That ultimately means WE are in charge of using our free will to obey God like the wind and sea. WE are in charge of our actions. WE are in charge of how we will respond to the free will of others around us. We can’t control the wind and sea, but we can control our free will.

As Orthodox Christians we exert our ‘being in charge’ by taking charge of ourselves. A life of prayer and fasting is the method we use to calm the seas of our hearts. When our anger swells up enough to kill, WE are in charge of calming our hearts for the glory of God.

When our passions churn with desire, we pray fervently turning our attention toward God rather than ourselves. Saint John Chrysostom would say, if we sin with our mind we pray. If we sin with our body, we fast. A life of prayer and fasting calms our mind and bodies so we can hear God.

So long as we storm out of control, we will never hear God’s whisper in our hearts to turn the other cheek. We will never see others as God’s children deserving of our love and grace. We will only be a storm waiting to perish. God wants us to live, not perish.

The only way to live with God is for us to take charge of our hearts, minds and bodies for the glory of God. Stop waiting for God to ‘take over’ and be ‘in charge’, and start taking responsibility for ourselves. You want to know who’s in charge….YOU are in charge.