God's Testing And Our Consequences

Life can be difficult, and God does test us (James 1:2-4), but is easy to inaccurately think of a consequence as a "test." Regardless of whether we say it to someone else, or think it to ourselves due to our own situation, difficult times do not always equal a testing period from God.

American culture tells us that nothing is our fault; we are born that way, we were taught that growing up, nothing is wrong it's just "different." Often times the way our specific society shapes us, shapes our theology and how we view scripture. This is sometimes seen in how we view God's testing versus the consequences of our actions.

God can absolutely test us regardless of the things we have done, as the story of Job so easily points out. Job was a righteous an upright man, of whom Satan claimed only loved and worshipped God because God had blessed him. So God gave Satan permission put Job through emotional, physical, and spiritual trial to see if Job would still believe and be faithful to God; and he was. This sort of thing can and does happen today, Satan does that to all of us; but sometimes it is our fault too.

Failing a test is not God's testing, it's the consequence of not working hard and not studying, but that seems too obvious. What about a broken relationship or someone else getting the promotion? We may not like those examples because they are a little too close to home. And while it certainly could be God allowing for trials to be in our life, it also certainly could be our fault. Who doesn't want a better job? But did we deserve it, or did we lose out because someone else was a more diligent worker? Or if we have wronged somebody and one day that relationship comes back to hurt us; it could be the consequence of our actions rather than God's testing.

Contrary to our American culture, sometimes things really are our fault. Sometimes we are flat out wrong in our actions and words, and sometimes we need to recognize that we have made decisions that may not go well for us. And in those times we can get upset and be mad at God, but it may be better to accept our situation and ask God to help us through it instead.

A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. The righteous hate what is false, but the wicked make themselves a stench and bring shame on themselves.
-Proverbs 13:4-5