“God Doesn’t Hate You.”

Those words came roaring through my head this morning as I was listening to a talk by Richard Rohr on True Self/ False Self. Granted, I don’t believe that God hates me or anyone for that matter, but as I reflected, I wondered how many folks walk around with the feeling that someone God is pissed at them. How many believe that God is the stern Father in the Sky who is somehow watching them; waiting for them to blow it so that God can scold them.

I think most people can intellectually ascend to a concept of a loving God. Talking about love seems so simple and complete. It’s like most of us intellectually ascend to the fact that our parents love us, yet how many know it? How many feel it? How many operate out of a sense of duty or obedience, not from self-love but to avoid rejection and loss of approval?

Having recently relocated to a new area I have had the opportunity to visit a few different churches. On Mother’s Day, one speaker began his message with the reality that children should be taught to honor their parents and that being born “fallen and sinful” that children must be taught to be obedient and honor the family system; children need correction. I agree that all people need some boundaries and framework to live in community, but often times it are those very rigid boundaries and systems that set folks up not to be able to live to such high expectations. It deepens on sense of self and shame. I sat there and listened for a couple of more minutes before I walked out. I didn’t walk-out because I couldn’t take the message; I think I left for all the kids in the world.

When we are most true, authentic selves I think we are most pleasing to God; and we are most “God-like”, our “I AMness”. When we are confronted by the natural expressions of ourselves and “conformed” to a system, we lose our conscious uniqueness. Trying to obey rules; please God so as not to lose approval or God’s acceptance or that of others; sets us up to deepen our shame.

Jesus’ message to the world was we no longer have to hide in shame, for God has drawn near to us out of love. Rules and systems that shame people have no place in the kingdom of God. God loves us because God is good. When we begin to turn and walk home toward the Garden, we discover paradise of our true-selves waiting for us where we dwell with God. A God who doesn’t hate, but the God, our Mothering Father, who lives with us.