Transactional God

 

Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash

Those who know me know that my faith journey has been evolving; through it, my understanding of God has expanded beyond the narrow definitions and boundaries outlined by various denominations and churches, and my conception of grace and mercy has also deepened and widened.  

One thought that has occurred to me, living in privilege as a Canadian who was raised in a capitalist society, is that my view - and maybe yours - of the faith relationship between us and God has been heavily influenced by these Western values, the end result being that my view of God was transactional; I was taught that my faith and my works were tied to the amount of Divine grace and blessing I might receive, as well as the size of my "place" in Heaven.  

Of course, almost nobody directly preaches that kind of thing on the pulpit anymore, at least not in my circles.  But if I take a step back and truly examine the messages being sent from the pulpit - any pulpit, I have come to realize that those in positions of spiritual authority have set up dichotomies where the "faithful" must give and sacrifice and do stuff in order to stay in God's favour, and the "fallen" are the ones who haven't given or sacrificed or done enough. Is that not what a transaction is - an exchange, a trade?

It sounds extreme, I realize, and maybe you think that I'm overthinking it or exaggerating.  You probably will insist that if you're still church-going, that in most "hip" and young evangelical circles, it's not really like that. 

Or is it?

• If you tithe and give like that poor widow, then God will bless you fiscally and won't let you starve.

• If you volunteer your time, then God will say "Well done, good and faithful servant" one day in Heaven.

• If you study the Bible daily, then God will speak to you in your heart of hearts through the Holy Spirit.

• If you pray, then God will answer your prayers.

• If you abstain from certain practices, then God will use you (as deacons, leaders, etc) and you will be "set apart" and not "of this world."

• If you follow certain liturgies and practices (like adult baptism), then God will allow you the privilege to serve.

• If you memorize the Scriptures, then God will guide you through the Holy Spirit.

• If you are "right" with God, then God will let you take part in communion.

• If you are "in sin," then God will turn God's face away from you and let you suffer the consequences all alone.

• If you stay virginal until marriage, then God will make your marriage the best relationship ever, but if you are a promiscuous heathen, your "sins" will cost you happiness points in your future relationships.

And so on, and so forth, but not in so many words.

But let's follow that "logic" and see how it measures up to the God I love and worship. Take those same bullet points, and rephrase the "if's" in the opposite.  What then is the conditional "then" clause to those "ifs", and is that consistent with who God says God is?

Better yet, look at those bulleted points and the fact that there are "ifs" and "thens" at all.  Those beliefs are inherently transactional. It's an exchange of A for B, as though God requires the A before the B is given.  That was what we heard on Sunday mornings, and the God being preached there is transactional, but it's not consistent with the God I've already met.

Instead, the One I love has already done all the things, and doesn't require me to do any more to be worthy of the love I've received, or the Spirit that I've been gifted.  The God who sent Jesus to die on the cross for my sins already completed the only transaction that is necessary, and that single act of grace and mercy has set me completely free.  If I serve, if I tithe, if I memorize a Bible verse or do a deep dive into Scriptures, it will not be because I want something or expect something in return; it will be because I want to.  If I continue to do all the things because I "should," because that is what the Church tells me to do, and  because I believe somewhere that my actions are tied to my spiritual status, then all I have done is diminish the work of Jesus Christ, who already did - and finished doing - these things for me (and for you).  

So that's where my faith is at.  I don't really use the term "Christian" to self-identify anymore, because it's a loaded phrase and the label doesn't represent a monolith; it conjures up all sorts of archetypes and binary thinking that mostly don't represent me now.  

I love Jesus. I love Yahweh God.  I love the Elohim who made me, the El Roi who sees me, the El Shaddai who saved me, the Jehovah Jireh who provides for me, the Immanuel who promises never to leave me, and the Abba who loves me like a parent loves their child.  But God is bigger than what any church has tried to narrowly define God to be, and everywhere I look, I see humans trying to put limits on Divinity for what I can only conclude to be reasons of power, money and control.

So, as for me and my house, we will love the Lord, and love our neighbours.  We will follow the Greatest Commandment(s), and we will leave the transactions and conditions to those who aren't ready to see God as bigger and more merciful and compassionate and loving than what their leaders tell them.