Red Light, Green Light

I recently posted a statement on Facebook and Twitter that read: “God is permission granting not permission withholding. Everything in life is a green light until the light turns red.” As a result of that statement, a few comments and quite a bit of discussion ensued. Allow me share a bit of my background and how I’ve come to this conclusion.

As a child raised in a Christian home, I was taught from a very young age about God. One of the things that I was taught, not so much by my parents but by the denomination that we were a part of, is that God is a “red light” God. I was taught a long list of things that as a Christian one could NOT do. To be a good Christian you didn’t drink. You didn’t smoke. You didn’t cuss. You didn’t lie. From there the list went on and on and was quite long. Being the submissive child that I was, I didn’t have a problem with that. Actually, it was easy for me to adhere to the “don’t do” list.

However, what I have realized in the last couple of years is that this philosophy of Christianity has affected how I view God. You see, if God is a God of “don’t dos” then everything is a “don’t do.” Being a part of a different non-denominational church for the last twenty years, I have gradually learned that Christianity isn’t about a list of things that you can’t do but about a list of things that you “get” to do.” I have tried to teach my daughters that there is a large list of things we get to do. I am focusing more on what we get to enjoy. As a result, we stay away from those other “bad” things because they are lesser pleasures.

So how does this tie in with the original statement, “God is permission granting not permission withholding. Everything in life is a green light until the light turns red.”? I spent most of my adult life waiting for God to open a door or to make it completely obvious to me about what I was to do next. If God didn’t open up heaven a give me a song to write, then I didn’t write it. If God didn’t call me up on the phone and ask me to record a worship CD, I didn’t do it. Everything was a red light. I sat patiently waiting for the light to turn green. I finally realized one day, “I’ve been sitting at this red light for a long time now.” Instead, a friend challenged me. He said, “Everything is a green light until it turns red.” This belief has totally changed my life. I have begun to view God as one who is willing granting permission for us to move ahead and not withholding that permission. If our hearts are toward God and we move ahead on our own or prematurely, He will turn the light to red if our hearts are open to listen.

For all of my friends who are reading this, how long have you been sitting at the red light? Perhaps the light has actually been green and God is asking you to move ahead slowly. If your heart is toward God, He’ll turn it to red (or even yellow for caution) if it’s not His timing or His plan. It’s time to take our foot off of the brake and put it on the accelerator pedal!