Everyone is bent.
Some of us are dented.
Some of us are twisted.
Some of us are bent crooked.
Some of us are bent-the-wrong-way.
Some of us are bent-out-of-shape.
Is God? Is God bent? If we are bent and we are God’s creation, then is “bent-ness” a character trait of our Creator? Did God blunder in some way that made this world so tarnished with pain and problems? Many people in our community are of the opinion that God, like us, is flawed. Oh, yes, we concede, God is big and powerful and for the most part good. But at times it seems to us that the Almighty might have made some mistakes. Or so we bent people are tempted to think.
Why, then, does God’s Word instruct us to “straighten out”? If, as many of us think, God is flawed in his condition, how then could he expect us, mere humans, not to be? Would God ask us to do something that goes against his character? If God were somehow bent in his judgment or abilities, then King David is unquestionably making a big mistake asking God to lead him “in the straight path”.
The Bible teaches throughout its pages that God is perfect. 2 Samuel 22:31 says that God’s ways are perfect and his word is flawless. In Psalm 107:7 God has led his people along a straight way. Proverbs 2:13 says that those who leave God’s path, the straight path, end up traveling on the opposite trail of evil and crookedness. When Jesus comes, John the Baptist makes a “straight” way for him. Jesus himself proclaims repeatedly that God is perfect. And how, if God were bent, could Proverbs 3:6 ever be true? That verse says that God will make your paths straight if you seek his desire for your life. In the Bible, every indication is that God is completely not bent.
And yet, our bent minds have such difficulty accepting the concept of a truly holy God: a God who is completely perfect in his power and goodness, with no blemish at all. Why do we have such a hard time believing that God has never and will never, and even could never, mess up?
Oh, if only our bent souls could uncurl. It is so hard to straighten out our souls while our spiritual muscles are cramped. If only we could trust in the Lord with all of our heart rather than leaning on our own bent understanding. Proverbs 3:7 says: “Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.” (NLT) Why not? Because our wisdom is bent, skewed, slanted, distorted.
That is why we must seek God. “Seek his face!” says Psalm 27:8. If we want to get to know who God truly is, then we must seek after him with all of our heart, bent-ness included. We must ask God to un-bend our souls so that we may see his face unveiled and clear straight in front of us. We must allow God to straighten our minds and work his power in us to make us un-bent, just like him (Matthew 5:48).
Right on, Ken. That was just what I needed reminding of. Thank you for sharing that sweet little slice of truth with us. Praise God for being straight and meeting us in our bentness (bentocity? =P), and using us in our bentness. Your right, He isn’t bent, He does not bend, this qualifies Jesus to be the one to lead us in a straight path (otherwise it would be blind leading blind, right?). Be encouraged Ken, I’m picking up what your laying down =D!
IS God Bent? I think so. I do not think that I mean that he is bent in a bad way, but that he must be bent. He lives in us, lived as one of us and continues to use us, as you pointed out, bent creatures, to do his straight path will. How could a God like that not bend himself out of shape in order for us to be effective? The very fact that he chose to come and live among us shows us that he was willing to bend over backwards for us, but not just willing, he actually did it.
IS God bent? Certainly, he has a bent. Us. We are his bent. Only God can bear the weight of the world on his shoulders. In our fallenness we try, so we bend, if we do not outright break.