God Is Not a Teletubby

Our world has painted God from only one side of Him, making us forget that He is so much more than we think. It is exciting for us to know the loving nature of God as Father, but we forget to acknowledge how angry a God and Master He can be. When we were little kids, we watched the Teletubbies show, and those little characters gave us the picture of fun-loving guys who just want to have fun. We also watched Barney and Friends, and the big purple guy was always so loving, kind and friendly. These shows gave us a view of sunshine, flowers and sweet melody, and somehow our view of God reflects this same theme. We only see the flowery side and deny that any other side exists because, after all, God is Love.

Let me tell you a story. In ancient times, a country went to war, and one of the soldiers kept a lovely attire that was part of the loot. The dress was so beautiful that he could not keep his eyes and hands off it, so he took it home. Naturally, this wasn't a terrible thing to do, but the problem was that God specifically instructed that no one was to take any of the things in the enemy's camp for themselves. It then happened that the next time that country went out to war, they lost badly and 36 soldiers were killed. Upon inquiry, they discovered it was because of the man who disobeyed God's instruction. Can you guess what they did to that man? They took him, his family and all that he had to a certain location. Then they stoned them, burned them and piled up stones on their ashes.

Crazy story, right? Well, this really happened, and it was God who sanctioned that judgement (Joshua 7 — the story of Achan). Now I can hear someone saying: "Why would a loving God allow such a thing to happen?" I can even imagine atheists seeing this and thinking: "Well, I was right all along. A loving God would never allow that." Well, I hate to break it to you, but the reason you feel shocked is that we have come to understand that God is love, but we have not fully grasped that this same God is also a consuming fire. We see Him in His Fatherly garments but don't want to also know that He is King, Lord and God!

This article was not made to scare you but to help you see what the Bible means when we are commanded to fear God. I know we have been told to see that phrase as a metaphor — something that means respect or reverence. But ladies and gentlemen, to fear God means to fear Him. No other words required. We need to understand that the same loving God we all know can also get angry, and His anger burns hot! As a Nigerian would say it, God sabi vex o!

The wisest man to walk the earth made a profound statement. He said: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). That means to begin the journey of wisdom, you first need to understand that God is not to be trifled with. A lot of us see God as that darling father who sits gently stroking a cat on his lap and would not even allow you to step on the floor so you don't get your feet stained, because of how much he loves you and wants to pamper you. You know — sugar daddy vibes. I haven't seen God yet, so I can't erase that thought from our minds, but what I can tell you is that this same loving Father who might have a cat on His lap is also the Lord of hosts of the armies of Heaven. I mean, there are generals on earth — mighty ones who control the armies of nations — but God is the Chief Commander of the armed forces in Heaven. There are kings on earth, but He is the King of them all!

Let me share another story of God as King. In Daniel 4, the mightiest king in Bible days was reduced to a goat because he ascribed all the glory and glamour in his kingdom to his own power and might. The moment he did this, a judgement was pronounced from Heaven and he was made to eat grass. King Nebuchadnezzar — four times mightier than any American President — was made to become like an animal because he defied the Lord of Glory! That's the same God we know.

So when He gives a commandment, please don't only see the loving Father side of Him. See Him in His war regalia. Don't make the mistake of thinking Christianity allows you to do what you like, or say what you want, or wear what you enjoy. Hmm, no o. Take, for example, a Scripture I quoted once that many people had a problem accepting because it is believed that a loving God would not do that. The scripture I quoted was Mark 11:26. Just after a really powerful message on faith, Jesus said (paraphrased): if you do not forgive others, your own sins won't be forgiven.

Now just imagine it. There are a lot of Christians who would feel, well, I'm the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, so I'm forgiven; or, God knows what that person did to me and, as such, He understands because He is a loving God. Ladies and gentlemen, He said He won't forgive your own sins. There's no way to escape it. Someone might say, well, that's just one part of the Bible, it may not mean that. Allow me to give you three references for the same thing. The third one is a story I will share in the next paragraph. The first reference is in the Lord's Prayer: Forgive us our trespasses AS we forgive those who trespass against us (Matthew 6:12). That means just as we forgive others, forgive us the same way. The second reference is in Matthew 6:14-15. In the same breath of the Lord's Prayer, Jesus said: "if you do payback to other people, your Father will do payback to you" (PEV).

Now the third reference is a story. Let me share it with you. It's found in Matthew 18:23-25. A king forgave a servant for a huge debt, then that same servant went to someone owing him less and threw that person into jail. The king was so angry with the servant he had forgiven that he threw him into jail as well, until he could pay all he owed. And in the 35th verse, Jesus said: "That's what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart."

So you can see there is no way to shrug out of it. If God says this is what I am going to do to you, don't excuse that command away because you know He is a loving God. I can tell you for certain: He is the Most High, and He would definitely do that thing. He didn't stutter, and He was not joking. Don't play with Him.

I hope this article brings you more light into how mighty God is, and how our walk with Him should not be taken lightly. I know someone may be thinking, well, a lot of this happened in the Old Testament. I'll say that's not true, because we still saw the vengeance of God displayed in the New Testament, and God said: I am the Lord, I change not. He never stopped being a consuming fire. Don't think He has lost it. Serve Him with this knowledge.