Gordon Robinson | How God really works

And God said “I will do nothing for you that you will not do for yourself.”

Hang on. Stop the mad scramble to find this quote in the Bible. It ain’t there! It’s my perspective learned from several life lessons. It has also been confirmed by God who often speaks to me absent any middleman. I’m constantly rebuked by my “born-again” Christian friends who tell me the Bible insists only God’s grace can save us.

But my truth comes from God not the Bible. God didn’t only tell this to me. God has been whispering to and inspiring clear thinkers for millennia. Long before Christ; eons before Ben Franklin; Sophicles passed on the message in his play, Philoctetes. It’s a 409BC tragedy that covers early Trojan War events. In it, Neoptolemus and Odysseus have the difficult task of bringing disabled master archer, Philoctetes, back to Troy from Lemnos where Odysseus originally banished him. So, when Odysseus realises Philoctetes is essential to winning the war, he muses “No good e’er comes of leisure purposeless; And heaven ne’er helps the men who will not act.”

God also spoke to Euripedes who wrote ( Hippolytus Veiled ; before 428 BC): “Try first thyself, and after call in God” and to Orestes who says, in Iphibeneia in Tauris (circa 414BC): “He who strives will find his Gods strive for him equally.”

These aren’t idle thoughts springing from minds on magic mushrooms. These are the result of meditative discussions held directly with God by persons willing to listen and look for answers. For God is within us. Jesus taught us this ( John 14:10-12). God speaks to us in many ways including signs sent by what may appear co-incidence but is, in reality, synchronicity.

Jews recognize the same philosophy. The Tanakh admonishes ( Proverbs 21:31): “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.”

I know. Anything with a horse, right? Don’t get me started on Hercules and the Wagoner. Muslims have a similar perspective. Quran 13:11 states “Indeed Allah will not change the conditions of a population until they change what is in themselves.”

The Christian church disagrees. Isaiah 25:4 proclaims “For [God] hast been a…strength to the needy…; a refuge from the storm; a shadow from the heat”

I guess umbrella makers; employment agencies; and poor relief organisations should pack it in?

According to the Bible we’re all helpless; infected by “sin”; a disappointment to God ( Romans 3:23); and condemned forever no matter what we do ( Isaiah 64:6). Only God/Jesus can save us. Jesus had to commit suicide to try.

All this alleged disappointment and condemnation comes from a God who loves us and gave us Free Will. The Apostle Paul acknowledges this spiritual dichotomy (1 Corinthians 10:23): “All things are lawful for me but all things edify not.”

But there’s no real paradox. I’ve written before that, contrary to Christian dogma, God issued no “Commandments”. Moses’ tablet contained a unilateral contract offered to us by God.

Lookie here. Futuristic words “thou shalt not” are more likely to preface promises than commandments. “Thou MUST not” would be a command. God has promised that, if we use our Free Will to love God (within us); love ourselves (the only way we can love our neighbour “as thyself”); we won’t commit any of the listed “sins”.

So our life philosophy must be focused on love; talking to the God within us rather than self-appointed human representatives; and helping ourselves. Expect nobody, especially a magic man in Fantasyland, to do our work for us. Never give up. And smile because, so long as you’re working on becoming Who You Really Are, God is working on it too. Kirk Franklin/James Harris III/Terry Lewis/Fred Tackett captured this on Franklin’s 2011 studio album:

I smile, even though I hurt see I smile.

I know God is working so I smile.

Even though I’ve been here for a while

I smile, smile.

It’s so hard to look up when you been down.

Sure would hate to see you give up now.

You look so much better when you smile, so smile!

If you commune with God you’ll create life shaping ideas. If you express them you’ll commit yourself to implementation. Then, spurred by divine inspiration from within and motivated by reluctance to prove yourself an empty barrel, you’ll begin work that leads to achieving your dreams.

Thought; Word; Deed! That’s how you become you. Don’t beg God or man. Don’t lie down and mope. Get up. Go. Do! You’ll be surprised how, while struggling to do, help materialises from unexpected sources and you eventually arrive at your divine destination.

I’ve promised to tell the story of how I became a lawyer in a Memoir. Lawyering was never my ambition. My father wanted me to be a Doctor. So I tried. For seven years at Campion College, I studied sciences. Very successfully! Here’s an excerpt from my as yet unpublished Memoir Chapter 7 (Gap Year). It’s a perfect example of the spiritual principles I’m trying to impart today:

“The year between my abandoning medicine and beginning Law caused me to grow exponentially by experiencing many things not taught in schools. It was also a depressing time. I’d ruined my future; destroyed my prospects. Nobody would ever trust me again. Or so my father told me.

Looking back, I realise I took a ‘gap year’ long before it was fashionable. With time on my hands and no text books to read, I looked around and saw a different world. And was often touched by God’s hand and guided by God’s words despite never studying any Bible. For example, about a month after I quit medicine, I was doing my daily chores (sitting on my bed listening to the radio) when my favourite Uncle, the legendary J.D. Hall, came to visit.

He said to me ‘Firstly, stop malicing your father. He only wants what’s best for you.’

‘Okay’ I meekly replied.

“Secondly you must have a life plan. What do you want to do in life?’

I knew the Answer to that one. My experiences as Deputy Editor and then Editor-in-Chief of The Campionite had been two of my most fulfilling at high school. ‘I want to be a journalist’ I told my Uncle.

‘No problem’ he said ‘I’ve a friend who will at least interview you for a job.’

THAT was easy, I thought to myself. If only my father was as empathetic. The following week, I kept an appointment J.D. made for me with J.C. Proute, editor-in-chief of the Daily News.

‘Your Uncle tells me you want to be a journalist’ he spoke in a cultured Barbadian accent. ‘Because he’s a good friend I agreed to see you. Also, I actually have a position available as a Cub Reporter. There’s a small function in Clarendon early next week you can cover for me as your first assignment.’

‘That’s great!’ I exulted.

‘Just a minute,’ Proute continued. ‘Before you take the job, I should let you know the perks associated with being a journalist. What I can promise you are ulcers, marital problems, psychological issues and you’ll wake up on Christmas morning at your desk. Now go away and think about it. If you still want the job, get back to me as soon as you can.’

He never heard from me on that subject again.

Later in life, I realized the conspiracy to teach me a life lesson probably included Proute, J.D., my mother AND father. I learned there’s more than one way to skin a cat. If you want someone to do something, it’s always best to let them think it was their idea. I’ve leaned on THAT philosophy throughout life.

My father soon relented and found me a job at Jamaica Tourist Board where he was a senior official. I was placed at the foot of the ladder in Planning, Research and Statistics. My tasks included telephoning every hotel every Thursday, asking for their ‘house counts’ and preparing a weekly table.

I ignored the job’s boring character; put my head down; smiled with co-workers; and ensured my house counts were the world’s best. After three months, I was called into the Department Head’s office and told my pay was increased (to the rapturous sum of J$98.00 per week). After six months, I was summoned again. The head, one of the finest human beings I ever met and one of Old Ball and Chain’s many loves, the late, great Ainsley Elliot, said to me ‘Gordon you don’t know it but you’re a lawyer. Apply to law faculty now!’

So I did.”

God works in mysterious ways.

Peace and Love.

Gordon Robinson is an attorney-at-law. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com