I heard a statement that sent me reeling in not a particularly great way. My emotional reaction to the question sparked an intensity so big that I was not able to visit this statement in my own head for quite a while. I was finally able to talk it over to one of my besties and try to make sense of it.

Her reaction to the same question was similar to mine. This makes me wonder, how many of us will react similarly to this exact question.

Question: “In relation to God are you an employee or a daughter/son?”

Oh boy!

I had to really analyze what this exactly meant. I think I more often than not relate to God as an employer and I the employee. I have expectations and I think that God has expectations that an employer and employee would have. I think in my subconscious, I believe that I need to have good behavior to keep my “job” (which would be my salvation - which is so not true) but I believe that many of us fall into this category.

Employer Employee

God expects me to show up I expect that I am needed to show up

God expects me to do a good job I expect that I have to do a good job for God

God’s favor is earned by what I do I think God’s favor is only obtained by what I do

I sat and pondered about these thoughts and then I remembered what it was like when I lived at “home” with my parents or even visited there. There was no pressure. I entered their home with no preconceived ideas. I mean perhaps when I was older, I might have hoped to get a supper out of the visit but other than that, I entered freely to be “me”.

I sat on the couch or even laid on it if I chose to. I walked around freely able to enter any room, I asked for something if I was hungry or thirsty or helped myself. I chatted about my life, what was going on, I was not there to “impress”. I was there to be.

My parents loved it when I came by for a visit after I had moved out, they enjoyed seeing me, interacting with me and I liked simply hanging out. I certainly did not go there to simply ask for things.

When I think of God one of the first things I ask myself is, “what am I doing for Him?” That is not daughter talk, that is employer/employee talk.

Do I even know how to sit and have a conversation with God about what is going on in my life - no expectations, no asking for something?

I mean is that not what most of us think of as talking to God – this constant asking for something, even if it is something for someone else.

How tiring it must be for God to be the receiver of constant “asks”. My sister is a hair dresser and my ex a mechanic; you know often the only friends they seemed to have were ones that needed haircuts or had a mechanical problem. It got tiring for them to be only “needed” instead of wanted.

My dear readers – God WANTS you! He does not NEED you.

Perhaps this is a great day to sit back and think about your relationship to God…. Are you a son or daughter or are you an employee?