What If God Really Was One Of Us?

Sooner or later, we all have to deal with the God issue.  It is amazing to me that so many people today who are walking a spiritual path avoid ever actually talking about God.  I do it myself.  When I write, I will say that Spirit answered my call, or that the Universe is looking out for me.  Rarely will I come right out and say the word God.  It is a word infused with way too many conflicting meanings, and I don't want my readers to have to deal with all of that confusion right in the middle of my article.  I want them to actually hear my message.  It is the same reason that AA uses the term higher power.  No matter where we stand on the God issue, even if we are not addicts or alcoholics, coming to terms with the concept of a higher power is a necessary step on our spiritual path.



Ultimately, we each have to decide for ourselves what God looks like.  It's a huge responsibility, and possibly dangerous.  What if the Churchianity people are right and we really are Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God?  Won't that God be really mad if we choose to believe something other than what our childhood church told us is the truth?   Many of us were raised in religions that taught that if we don't believe their version of Truth we will be punished for all eternity. What if we get cast into the fires of hell?

Even if we were raised with a gentler version of God, most of us were taught that God is outside of us.  He is totally Other than us:  we pray to him, as a child to a father.  We were raised to believe that God is above us, outside of this world, looking down.  Some of us fear God's watchful eye because we believe him to be a God of Justice, and so we fear being punished for being imperfect.  Others of us find comfort under God's loving gaze, because we believe him to be a God of Mercy, who wants only good for us.


Voltaire, a French philosopher from back in the day, once wrote that if God did not exist it would be necessary to invent him.  I believe that we all invent our own version of God, and that we each create God in our own image.  It is why there are as many versions of God as there are people.  What does your God look like? 

Joan Osborne's song, What If God Was One Of Us, was popular because people really do want a personal God.  We all want to be OK, and if God really is just a slob like one of us, then that makes us OK.  Yesterday, a friend posted a parody of that song on Facebook, called What If God Smoked Cannabis?    It is a silly little ditty, and after I got done laughing it got me to start thinking of the nature of God.  What if he really is just one of us?  Years ago there was a book called Joshua, that portrayed Jesus as a woodworking hippie who was comfortable walking into any church, christian or not.  I bet Joshua smoked cannabis; most woodworking hippies do.

In the movie Dogma, Alanis Morissette plays God.  In that version, God likes to take time off to go shoot skeet, and while she's not paying attention to her God duties some rogue angels get out of hand.  I especially love the fact that God, who could choose any outfit in the world, chooses to wear a ballerina tutu with men's boxer shorts.  I love that outfit.  In Bruce Almighty, and the sequel Evan Almighty, God decides to take some time off and let one of us take over for a while.  It doesn't go well.  In Joan of Arcadia, God takes many guises: a young girl, a dog walker, a spiky haired kid.  I especially like the way that Joan argues with God, the way a teenager might argue with a Dad that she was particularly close to.  Joan doesn't go to church, and she does not seem to be religious in the strict sense.  But yet she talks to God, and in trying to complete his assignments, she grows. 

We don't have enough space here today for me to tell you what my own version of God looks.  As I have grown, my idea of God has also evolved.    You'll get glimpses of it in my writing, because -- whether or not we say we believe in God -- our vision of God informs our lives and influences the choices we make.  Take some time to consider what the idea of God means for you.  While you're at it, don't be afraid to have a little fun with it.  I'm sure God won't mind if you have a little giggle at her expense.

To help you on your journey of discovery, I offer you this food for thought: