JEFF PEARLMAN

JEFF PEARLMAN

Does God use people?

In the aftermath of my Q&A experience with the fantastic Wendy Hagen, I was intrigued by the reaction of some of her blog followers to the whole thing. They were, I think, very enthusiastic, and one even commented on the wonderful way God has chosen to “use” Wendy.

What the follower meant was that, somehow, God placed Wendy in the position of being interviewed for my blog, which therefore spread her message about Him.

I get this. Honestly, I get this. I suppose where Wendy (and her fans) and I differ is in the relationship between God and humans. If there is a God (an enormous If in my book), I don’t believe He’s nearly as fascinated and interested in human beings as many religious people do. There are millions out there who seem quite convinced that God watches our day-by-day movements, from hugging our children to driving our cars to pissing blood. He is there, either guiding or observing.

I just can’t imagine such a thing.

We’re not all that important. Really, we’re not. We take up space, we go to work, we eat, we play, we sleep. Sometimes we drink alcohol, sometimes we have sex, sometimes we listen to Menudo while wearing women’s underwear and daning around in our bedrooms (not, eh, ah, uh, me, of course). I think we try and do our best—to live decently, to embrace the moments, to treat others with respect—but I don’t believe our existences to be overwhelmingly important, in a cosmic sense.

Before us, there were dinos.

After us, there’ll be … something.

We’re just here, digging the moment.