Originally Posted by Missy

This whole idea of "God will take care of me" really struck a nerve with me. I too was raised in a very strict Christian home, attending a very uptight Baptist school through 8th grade, having to go to church every Sunday, Bible Study every Wednesday, Bible camp every summer, blah blah blah. I have since learned to think for myself and not take everything I was taught in church and school as fact simply because "the Bible says so" (as most of my family believes).

The part that really irks me about all of this is that my mother is exactly the way that joke describes. In other areas of her life, she seems normal and practical. However, she is one of those who firmly believes that "God will provide" even if she does nothing to help herself. She and my stepdad are very poor, barely scraping by every month. But when she is offered a job she turns it down, saying "God will provide". So instead she allows people from her church to pay their bills when they can't afford them, give them used vehicles when theirs break down, etc. This is her idea of God providing.

I love my mother dearly, but sometimes I just want to smack her on the forehead and tell her "God IS providing you by putting that great job opportunity right in front of your face! Get off your lazy ass and help yourself for once!" She, and most of her/my family, so firmly believe that if it's God's will, he'll provide the way... to the extent that they seem to have forgotten that God helps those who help themselves, and may not hand them everything they need, but will hand them opportunities that will allow them to work and earn what they need.

This is a very sensitive subject for me. It's all about brainwashing.