But why do things suck?
When things are going well, they can go bad as quick as a flash. And even when things are terrible, you know that they can always get worse.
How bad can it get? Remember these words of wisdom from the 1984 movie Ghost Busters:
Dr. Peter Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions. Mayor: What do you mean, "biblical"? Dr. Ray Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath-of-God type stuff. Dr. Peter Venkman: Exactly. Dr. Ray Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies. Rivers and seas boiling. Dr. Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness. Earthquakes, volcanoes... Winston Zeddemore: The dead rising from the grave. Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria.
Sounds pretty bad, right?
So, where does all this bad stuff come from? Who makes it happen?
For Christians and Jews, the answer is in Isaiah 45:7, where God takes personal responsibility for everything that happens - good and bad. Let's see how different versions of the Bible render that verse:
| version | rendition of Isaiah 45:7 |
|---|---|
| ASV | I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil. I am Jehovah, that doeth all these things. |
| BBE | I am the giver of light and the maker of the dark; causing blessing, and sending troubles; I am the Lord, who does all these things. |
| DBY | forming the light and creating darkness, making peace and creating evil: I, Jehovah, do all these things. |
| JPS | I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am the LORD, that doeth all these things. |
| KJV | I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. |
| WBS | I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. |
| WEB | I form the light, and create darkness. I make peace, and create calamity. I am Yahweh, who does all these things. |
| YLT | Forming light, and preparing darkness, Making peace, and preparing evil, I 'am' Jehovah, doing all these things. |
So, it seems pretty clear that, if things are going wrong in your life, there is onle one Person you should blame: God. Either that, or you had too many beers Saturday night - and I'm sure that you won't admit to having a shred of personal responsibility for your misfortunes.
But, although God claims responsibility for all the evil that happens in the world, He doesn't necessarily make it happen by His own hand. Sometimes God uses subcontractors to actually do the dirty work.
Ever read the book of Job? There was a ton of bad stuff heaped on Job. God signed the approval forms, but the Devil did the actual nasty work.
So, think of Dennis that way - he’s a subcontractor. The Bible makes it clear that God is responsible for absolutely everything that happens, good and bad. But He is a rather busy guy, so he has to delegate. Sometimes, he delegates catastrophe to the devil. Sometimes Dennis gets the contract.
So, whenever something goes wrong, you can Just Blame Dennis. He's on a mission from God.
But don't try to interfere. If you managed to get Dennis fired, somebody worse might take the job.