Following are some perceptions of God that we may have unknowingly adopted that are unbiblical and untrue according to Scripture.  A word of warning, these words may hurt. But I still feel they need to be put out there. If God is the One we serve, worship, and hold to as the ruler of our lives, we really need to get His Character and His Truth right, don’t we?

So, please find below 4 myths you should know about God – in no particular order.

God is not the “Man Upstairs”

I’ve lived in apartment buildings during my life, and I’m pretty sure in most of those there’s been a “man upstairs.” I wouldn’t know his name or much about him at all, in fact. He’d be someone I’d see occasionally with no intentional efforts made to bump into him. He’d be someone I wouldn’t share anything deep with. Our conversation would be completely superficial. We may be standing together in the building elevator and chit chat about the weather, or exchange meaningless “I’m fine” answers when asking each other how we are.

However, contrary to the “man upstairs,” God is intensely personal with His children. He cares more than anyone ever could about them. He is actively involved in their lives at absolutely all times. Notice that people who use this phrase almost always are those who don’t know God personally. Read Psalm 139:1-6 to know how greatly God cares for you.

Is God the “man upstairs” to you?

Know that the Lord is literally the polar opposite of the “man upstairs” stereotype.

God is not a Celestial Santa Claus

The main premise of Santa Claus is that he rewards only those who have been good. And we can think of God as answering our prayers if we’re doing well spiritually, or as granting us our hearts desires if we’re matching up to the expectations of His Word.

But nothing could be further from the truth for those who are saved!

This verse alone says it all:

…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

Our good works didn’t lead to Jesus dying for us and granting us entry into eternal life in Heaven, nor do they entitle us to God being kind to us and rewarding us once we’re His children. Click To Tweet

In fact, contrary to the Santa Claus role, Psalm 34:18 describes exactly who our Father is drawn to, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” If you’re at a low place, at a needy place, and in a place where you’ve reached the end of yourself, that’s is where God dwells! That is where “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3). Quite the contrary to good things coming your way from on High because you’ve had it all together, accomplished great feats, and been “good.”

What grace we have received! Loving kindness from the Creator of the Universe when we least deserve it, and least have a right to expect it.

I thank God that He is the polar opposite of the Celestial Santa Claus perception.

God is not a Divine Butler

I’m not a drug taker. I barely ever take a painkiller let alone antibiotics or any meds. When I go to our doctor, I usually tell him what I suspect is wrong with me, what tests I need done, what treatment may help, etc.

We often tend to do the same with God! We pour out our requests to Him, we tell Him what He should be doing, what’s best for us, demand that He gives us the prescription for what we think will put us out of our discomfort, and stand back waiting for Him to “answer our prayers.” But, my friend, God doesn’t operate this way.

How quickly we forget that He is the “blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,” (1 Timothy 6:15), that He is “Most high over all the earth … exalted far above all gods,” (Psalm 97:9) and we fail to ask “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? (Exodus 15:11).

When we’re tempted to think of God as a Divine Butler awaiting our next instruction, it’s humbling to remember that, “There is none like God…” (Deuteronomy 33:26)

If we're unkowingly thinking of the Lord as someone who is at our service, what we’re most likely lacking is a concept that was alive, powerful, and well in the Old Testament, but that has been so lost in our day and age. The fear of… Click To Tweet

We don’t stand in astoundingly reverant awe of the God who reigns supreme over all things.

To my very own forefathers God said, “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Dear one, you and I need to “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” (Psalm 2:11). It’s upon us to work out our own salvation with “fear and trembling.”(Philippians 2:12b)

No, God is not our Divine Butler who steps in line to our beckon calls. “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that He pleases.” (Psalm 115:3) And not the other way around.

God in His very essence is the polar opposite of a Divine Butler.

God does not live in a Box

God is God! I know that is a strange statement, but I believe it needs to be addressed. How often have you heard someone say, “Well, MY God would never allow something like that to happen.” Or “The God I know would have healed that person.”

God is God! He is no one else, and is like no one else.

You may have heard the expression “We can’t put God in a box.” What people who use this phrase are actually saying is, “Whatever the God of the Bible says about Himself, is not all there is. I want to make up my own idea about who God is, and what He would and wouldn’t do.” So they take God out of the “Box,” which is in fact, out of the Bible! And start to conjure up new and improved ideas of what they believe God should be and do.

Perhaps you can pick this up when one says, “My God would never allow an atrocity to occur…” or “The God I serve would never send people to Hell,” what they’re really saying is either, “I believe in a God that I’ve made up in my mind. I’ve taken all the good bits, and thrown out all the hard bits, and these are now the character traits my new god has.” Or, they’re saying, “If I was God, I would/wouldn’t….”

Now before you think I’m being judgmental or harsh, I believe we are all guilty of this in some form or another, whether we realize it or not. The moment we start to expect God to be different or perform acts that don’t line up with His biblical character, we are in danger. Heed the following warning:

For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

2 Corinthians 11:4-6

We are all susceptible to “putting up” with this sin, mostly because it often sounds good and we may even want to believe that God can be shaped to a view that is convenient for us, or that His arm can be twisted to become who we think He should become.

But the fact remains that God does live within the boundaries that He laid out in the Bible, and we are stepping on dangerous ground when we take on His role in deciding what He should be and how He should act. And that is exactly what we do in this case.

The God of the Bible is the polar opposite of the One people want to form in their minds to suit themselves. Click To Tweet

So there you have it… hard words, I know, but I pray that they are eye opening and have challenged your heart.

Which of the above myths have you believed?

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