Am I treating God like a dictator?

In a recent Substack newsletter, I discussed recent Louisiana legislature and how the Jesus I know is not a dictator. He doesn’t rule with an iron fist—controlling, manipulating, and leading with force. And yet, many western Christians try to do that very thing, silencing all other opinions and forcing others to conform with our beliefs and ways of life.

To further that conversation, this month’s blog features questions for discerning when we’re treating God like a dictator and trying to make rules and build systems that control others’ beliefs.

Would I be just as supportive if the same privileges and representation were given to another religion or group of people?

A surefire way to tell if something is offering disproportionate privilege to one party is to reverse the roles. To use the example of Louisiana’s legislation about the 10 Commandments being displayed in schools, we can ask ourselves whether we’d also be supportive if tenants of other faiths were also displayed. I think we’ve been conditioned to believe that as Christians, we are the most important and deserve more privileges and representation than other people. However, this entitlement doesn’t reflect the humility of Christ, nor does it make others curious to know more about him.

Whose religious freedom or liberty is this protecting? Whose might this be infringing upon?

In the case of the 10 Commandments legislature, Christians’ liberty was protected. While there’s nothing inherently wrong about protecting religious freedom, it isn’t true freedom if we’re only protecting it for a select few. In making rules that elevate our beliefs and ignore or diminish others, we’re actually infringing on people’s rights to live and believe what they want.

Would I be happy if these rules, laws, or systems were made in a way that they affected me?

If laws were made that mandated our children be taught about other religions and not our own, how would we feel? If we’d be hurt, angry, or threatened by how our laws and systems would affect us were the roles reversed, it’s a good indicator that those laws and systems aren’t fair for the people affected.

Do these laws show kindness and love?

As people who love God, we’re called to reflect this divine kindness and love into the world. Jesus even says this is how we’re to be known as his followers (John 13:35). So, as we make decisions about rules or systems, it’s important to clarify if our decisions are a reflection of that deep kindness and love.

What am I afraid of—and how might that fear be influencing my decisions?

Again, using the Louisiana ruling as an example, it’s possible the lawmakers were afraid that other religious groups would become more prominent or that the population of young Christians would dwindle. It’s easy to base our decisions off fear, whether it be conscious or unconscious. However, in taking a step back to assess if we’re afraid and how that might be affecting our decisions, we can make choices based off reason and fairness rather than fear.

We don’t have the live in fear or use God as a means to control others. Instead, we can care about fairness for all people, showing the radical kindness and love of Christ to a fearful world.