Man’s Attempt to Survive a Life Without God

“Archaeologists have unearthed Neanderthal graves containing weapons, tools and the bones of a sacrificed animal, all of which suggest some kind of belief in a future world that was similar to their own. The Neanderthals may have told each other stories about the life that their dead companion now enjoyed. They were certainly reflecting about death in a way that their fellow-creatures did not. Animals watch each other die, but as far as we know, they give the matter no further consideration. But the Neanderthal graves show that when these early people became conscious of their mortality, they created some sort of counter-narrative that enabled them to come to terms with it. The Neanderthals who buried their companions with such care seem to have imagined that the visible, material world was not the only reality. From a very early date, therefore, it appears that human beings were distinguished by their ability to have ideas that went beyond their everyday experience.”
-Karen Armstrong: A Short History of Myth

Psalm 139:13-14
13For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb.
14I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

We were each custom made by God, but more importantly for God. Man was created with the intrinsic understanding of his creation by a superior being, and the myriad of implications that would render. No human being can escape His presence. How does man cope with his own blatant disregard of inherent knowledge? The answer to this question explains many events throughout history. Man cannot. The answer is as simple as that. There is absolutely no way of dealing with a personal refusal to yield to a deity that is omnipresent in the world around us.

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Nature never spares the opium or nepenthe; but, wherever she mars her creature with some deformity or defect, lays her poppies plentifully on the bruise, and the sufferer goes through life, ignorant of the ruin, and incapable of seeing it, though all the world point their finger at it every day. The worthless and offensive members of society, whose existence is a social pest, invariably think themselves the most ill-used people alive, and never get over their astonishment as the ingratitude and selfishness of their contemporaries.”

Everyone knows that annoying kid who always thought he was “mad cool.” That, is the essence of man. Without God, we cannot possibly cope, so we are faced with two choices: spend the rest of life in submission to this deity, or spend the rest of life convincing ourselves that there is no such ultimatum. If man rejects God, it is imperative that he devalues the significance of his choice; this is man’s only chance at sanity.

Romans 1:17-32
17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."
18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
21For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
24Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
25For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,
27and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
28And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,
29being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,
30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
31without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;
32and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Who understands human nature in more depth than the being who created it? He knows the implications of rejecting Him. This is where is gets scary… He is very active in man’s rejection of Him. Verse 24, “Therefore God gave them over,” verse 26 “For this reason God gave them over,” verse 28 “God gave them over to a depraved mind.”

Psalm 81:9-14
9"Let there be no strange god among you; Nor shall you worship any foreign god.
10" I, the LORD, am your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.
11"But My people did not listen to My voice, And Israel did not obey Me.
12"So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, To walk in their own devices.
13"Oh that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!
14"I would quickly subdue their enemies And turn My hand against their adversaries.

God’s longing for us to find joy in Him is not a notion to be underestimated. He gave His Son up to die for us. He desires to fill our every need and to comfort us, but when that offer is rejected, he allows our hearts to be calloused and confused. This principle applies to Christians as well. Just because we go to church and claim to follow Jesus, does not protect us from ensnaring ourselves. This is where introspection becomes so vital. We must fight everyday to see through the opium and nepenthe of our lives, because seeing ourselves as we really are is the factor that keeps our souls breathing. Being His children does not infer that we are immune from God giving us over to the desires of our hearts. We are completely free, able to choose between God and ourselves every second of the day. We are also filthy and decrepit beings, forced to overcome ourselves in order to see God every day. This collaboration is the most frightening aspect of life. If there is a particular area that we refuse to yield to God, it will grow. The more we choose this area over God, the closer we creep to the point where God gives us over to that area. He will cry and plead, but He will only hold on for so long, in order to preserve our free will. Delusional Christianity is dangerous. Consider Mathew 7:19-23: 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20"So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22"Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 23"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me; you who practice lawlessness.” Believing in God is not enough. James 2:19 mentions how even satan believes in God. It is Surrender that God seeks… complete surrender.

The minute we refuse to submit even the minutest point of life, we turn down the volume of God’s voice in our hearts. Mathew 13:14-15 says that the heart of people has become dull because of our unwillingness to see and hear God, but states that if we returned, He would immediately heal us.

In the words of our Lord Jesus, “Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) We must stay on top of ourselves with the most excruciating attention, and pray daily that God will show us our weak points. God forbid we find ourselves in a place where we look for God, but do not remember where to find Him.