Does God like you more than other people?

Those who know me well would recognise the signs.

A patient smile, voice painfully polite, pleasant on the outside but the lava of frustration was gurgling within.

”Why didn’t you say something?” you may ask. Sometimes we should but there are times and places, such as brief conversations with passing acquaintances whose opinions are fixed, when it feels pointless.

I went for a walk, laying my angst out in prayer before Wisdom itself.

What provoked such a reaction, you may wonder? It was actually a ‘testimony to God’s goodness’.

Blessed

This is what was said: “God has been good to me. Everyone around me has become sick, but God has kept me healthy. Praise his name!”

At this point, you probably think that I am an oversensitive soul who needs to ‘get a grip’. And you are probably right.

There are two aspects of this ’testimony’ that bug me. Really bug me. Like a mosquito that comes at you in the dark from all angles, viciously buzzing.

The first is the inference that God cares more about this individual’s well-being than he does about that of those around her. It sounded like she was bragging that she is one of God’s favourites.

The second is the expectation that if I am a Christian, life will be a bed of roses, minus the thorns. Which implies, then, that when life is tough, the fault lies with me.

No thinking Bible-literate Christian would agree with these two inferences, obviously.

But we don’t always think.

Causes and effects

The Bible is full of teaching about how blessings and curses follow obedience and rebellion respectively.

But just the same, quite apart from blessings and curses, sometimes bad things happen to good people.

Actions and even attitudes have consequences. Daily choices like wearing a seatbelt (or not), eating healthily (or not) and … dare I say it … availing oneself of all that modern medicine has to offer (or not) can sometimes directly affect one’s quality of life.

But just the same, quite apart from actions and consequences, sometimes bad things happen to good people.

In contrast to the Scriptures about blessings and curses, there are also Scriptures promising persecution and suffering for those who follow God wholeheartedly. Followers of Jesus whose lives resemble the great men and women of old, some of whom were stoned, sawn in half, homeless or harassed, but all of whom stood firm in their faith, are praised.

But I’m actually not talking about persecution which comes for following Jesus either. Sometimes, quite apart from that, bad things just happen to good people.

Why such a strong reaction?

The comment made by that well-meaning person who just wanted to give glory to God for keeping her healthy hit a nerve in me.

You see, all around me, people are getting sick. Not so long ago, we buried a godly woman who was just three years my senior. A few months earlier, it was another peer who was also a beautiful Christian lady. Others in my circle of family and friends are currently facing their own health challenges. Covid has also impacted many people dear to me, not just in terms of the disease itself but also the isolation imposed in an effort to control its spread. Friends in another part of the world are still enduring that now. And, of course, covid continues to create chaos in our communities here too.

Why should God be kind to one individual and keep that person well when he is apparently unwilling to intervene in the lives of other struggling brothers and sisters in Christ? Does he like some people more than others?

Consider the birds

”It’s not fair,” I stormed at God as I stomped around the wetlands behind the supermarket not far from home. Bad things sometimes happen to good people, despite their faith in God. Others, however, seem to sail through life with barely a hiccup.

As I stomped and stewed, the sun sank lower in the sky. Birds of all sizes soared and swooped down to their roosts, singing lustily.

Was that a still, small voice whispering beneath the cacophany of bird calls? Or was it a combination of two memorised verses surfacing? Or was it both?

“Consider the birds.… Aren’t you much more valuable to your Father than they?“

Matthew 6:26 TPT

…. not even one sparrow falls from its nest without the knowledge of your Father. Aren’t you worth much more to God than many sparrows?

Matthew 10:29 TPT

God does not always supernaturally intervene in the lives of his children, but that does not mean that he does not care. He knows what we are enduring.

And, of course, sometimes he does heal or relieve or rescue us. And so I keep asking for that, until the ’no’ is final or circumstances change.

God knows

I sincerely hope that the well-meaning lady whose comments sparked this blog post stays healthy even while everyone around her crashes. But I don’t think that any of us can expect life to be hunky dory simply because we trust in God.

Oh yes, God is good to us. I have stories of my own about how God has stepped in with extra special blessings at times. I am grateful and usually quick to give God due credit. But when he doesn’t intervene, he is no less present or concerned.

Consider the birds. God knows and cares about each of them. How much more does he know all that is going on for us and care about us, his children?

I began this blog post with the question, ’Does God like you more than other people?’ God certainly shows us grace, mercy and kindness at different times, but favouritism? Theologies of election and foreknowledge are complicated but this I know: our degree of well being in life does not reflect how much God loves us.

God’s care and knowledge over his creation is infinite. He follows the movements of each duck, cockatoo, magpie, swamp hen, ibis, darter, swallow and many more besides. How much more does he care about us, his children?!

I am still not quite sure if or how I will respond next time old cranky pants (me) perceives that somebody is bragging that God has been kinder to them than to others. Even worse, it may even be me that brags, mindless of the plight of others.

A testimony to God’s goodness is always appropriate. But an attitude that God likes me better than he does you, even if it is unspoken and the speaker unaware of it, is just not on.

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PS Please don’t hesitate to share testimonies of God’s goodness to you. Super sensitive Suzanne is getting off her soapbox now 😉.