God is Not a Balanced God, Quite the Opposite

God seems anything but balanced. At least that is what Jesus seemed to think and teach. I hear this often (or along these lines): “I know God is love, but you can’t sway too far to that side—you have to keep him in balance.” Most of us want a God who is balanced. One who doesn’t stray too far to the side of vengeance or to the side of love. One who finds a nice comfortable spot in the middle and firmly plants himself there, never to be moved. A lot of us want a moderate God, a middle of the road God.

But fortunately for us humans, that God does not exist.

Instead, we have a reckless God. An extreme God. A far-leaning-to-one-side God. Daddy is excessive. He’s wild. He’s unreasonable. He’s unfair. He’s unwarranted. He’s a fanatic who is insane, hell-bent, unbridled, unrestrained, uninhibited, and a borderline lunatic when it comes to loving and forgiving us humans—his kids.

To Jesus, God is a field manager who hired a bunch of workers at different times throughout the day—some working all day and others for only an hour—and paid them all the same! Some complained he was not being fair.

God is a scorned old father who at the mere glimpse of his wayward son (who, by the way, wished his father dead) off in hazy distance, hiked up his robe, ran to him, embraced him and could not stop kissing him; he then killed the best calf, put a ring and robe on him, and partied for days! The respectful older son was jealous, complaining too that the situation was not fair.

God is a shepherd who left 99 sheep in the open field—abandoning them—to go chase one worthless (in our eyes) sheep that ran away! Talk about reckless.

God is a banquet host who, when the invited guests did not show up, went into the streets inviting the outcast, the homeless, the crippled, the sinful, the lepers, the AIDS stricken, the mentally disabled and a whole other mess of his kids who were rejected, to a banquet with the finest food, the best china, the most expensive wine (you get the picture)—for free, with no hope of receiving anything from them in return! A tad excessive.

God is a woman who lost a coin and tore apart her house day and night looking for it, and when she finally found it she threw a party! Fanatic comes to mind.

God is a pearl collector who found a pearl and then sold everything he owned to purchase it! He is also a chum who found a treasure in some field and in turn sold everything as well to buy the field! Sure, they have their pearl and “treasure”, but now they are homeless and on welfare. Picture a friend of yours doing that…lunatic, no?

God is a king who let off the hook a guy who owed him $3,000,000,000—three billion dollars!—free and clear, not owing a thing! Who does this if not someone who is insane? (Yes, I know that the forgiven man then went out and demanded five dollars from a buddy and threw him in jail when he couldn’t pay, and yes, when the king heard of this he called the forgiven man back before him and threw him in jail because he refused to love as the king loves, to forgive as the king forgives).

And on and on Jesus went describing a God who was anything but balanced when it came to love. But he not only described it, he also lived it. He touched the untouchable, talked to the untalkable, forgave the unforgivable, ate and drank with sinners, healed the cursed, and went crazy when it came to love! (He also had some pretty harsh words to say for those who labeled, judged, and condemned all of the above, but I offer that even his harsh words flowed completely out of love for even them!)

So is God balanced? Thankfully not. But what about justice? Listen, since God is way unbalanced towards the side of love (which to him isn’t even a side) then any loving decision he makes is just, because God is the measure of justice, not us. In the end, his love-justice will probably seem terribly unjust to us—even me! Perhaps our “unjust” feelings will be more of a light shed onto our screwed up idea of “justice” than anything else.

Its funny, when it comes to God’s extravagant, unfair love and forgiveness, we freely believe and claim it for ourselves. It is when it applies universally to others, especially all the non-deserving (whoever that is for you), that we get hung up.

I am sure a large majority of us Christians (perhaps myself included) will whine much like my seven year-old son does: “But that’s not fair! I did this and that. I believed this and that. I served you. I…I…I… What did they do? Why do they get the same thing we get? Who are they that they should be called sons of God? Why do you love them? It’s not fair!” (Sounds awfully like a few parables, doesn’t it?)

Perhaps God will respond much like I do when my son enters into his whiny it’s-not-fair-mode, simply and calmly saying . . . “I know.”

Perhaps he’ll add, “Are you envious because I am generous?”

I am so glad that Jesus painted a picture of God who is anything but balanced. I am glad that Daddy is not moderate. That he’s reckless, extreme, far-leaning-to-one-side, excessive, wild, unreasonable, unfair, hell-bent, unbridled, unrestrained, uninhibited, and a borderline lunatic when it comes to loving and forgiving us humans; his kids.

Aren’t you?

May I follow my Daddy’s lead…