Hamburger Helper and Christian Books - An Emily Rant

Warning Emily Rant!

Ok, maybe I am being petty, maybe I am the only one in the world who has a problem with this, but it has reached the point where I am considering drastic action that might get me arrested. Why? Because I fairly certain it is illegal lurk in bookstores and beat people over the head with an umbrella for buying certain books. (Why not simply have these books removed from the stores you ask? Because I am all about free speech - there has to be some easy method to spot idiots.)

My problem is not so much that these books are out there, ok well it is but, my bigger problem is that we live in a society where every aspect of our faith relationship has been broken down into "1,2,3, Easy Steps for Health, Wealth, Prosperity, or Just Generally How to Get What You Want Out of God". My problem is that we formalized what is supposed to be relationship until it has become nothing more than a glorified rules with nothing relational about it.

Nothing, and I do mean nothing, is ever as easy as 1,2,3 Easy Steps - not even Hamburger Helper, but so much of our literature seems to have some insidious desire to make God even less than that. We want him to be easy and simple to use. We do this, he does that, and everyone is happy because we all get our way. He got the attention he desired and we get the fun stuff.

Who do we think we are kidding here? Who exactly do you think really believes that this could and should work? Does any other relationship - intimate relationship whose existence is not governed by contractual obligation operate this way? And do you really love another person whose only tie to you is a contract?

There is a reason so many of the wonderful things God has to teach us are written in stories. He did not want this to be a heartless exchange of your obedience for his blessing. He wanted this to be about a relationship, a real one where he is not pawn in your schemes, and gave us stories so that we could get to know him, not just learn the rules we need to about him. He gave us graphic accounts of his dealings with humanity so we could see how a relationship with him looked like, what it sounded like, and know that it isn't always neat and pretty, tied up with a bow.

A relationship is responsive, adjusting and meeting the needs at hand, not just pushing on to step number 2 because you finished step number 1. A relationship requires that we stop, slow down, and check in with another being to see where they are, what they feel, and how do we best meet their needs. A relationship with God is no different. It is about getting to know his heart so that we can respond.

If he was just a system to be operated we would have been given an owners manual, but we weren't. And we sure as blazes weren't given a stupid recipe book where we add a pinch of this and dash of that to get what we want. We were given an invitation, a first date written in prose, so that we could hear who he is, learn the things that are important to him, and discover his heart - and not so we could manipulate him by using the "rules" against him.

1,2,3, Easy Steps give us a false sense of control. They lead first to arrogance in our supposed power to get our blessings, and then to frustration and disappointment - anger, even - when we learn that God is not subject to our whims. He doesn't have to play by our rules. We have to play by his, and that means we have to get to know him, not keep him at a distance through blind adherence to any formula.

He never wanted us to work the system, and he never wanted us to emotionally check out of being in his presence. He wants us there with him in each moment, learning how to respond and move according to the demands and blessing of a relationship.

So please, stop buying these books. Stop feeding into a system that is distorting our faith and leaving us ignorant of a God who really wants to be known. If you are looking for books about him, look for ones that share his story that look at the principles not the steps for how to engage with him. Find ones that explore the Bible and talk about what it says in context, not a bunch of random verses strung together to support a broken system and designed to appeal to your need for control. He loves us, and the only step required to learning more of him is to love in return - everything past that is merely a new expression of that love.

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