The other night, I was watching the end of Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I don't know why I bothered because the end of that damn show always makes me cry, but I did it anyway.
Usually, the show brings tears to my eyes in that sense that, "Wow, their lives are going to be completely turned around by this. I'm so amazingly happy for them and so in awe of the people who helped it to happen."
The other night, I got tears in my eyes for a different reason.
The woman whose house had been rebuilt was amazed by it all, and she kept repeating, "Thank you, God. I'm so grateful to God for making this happen. It just shows me that He looks out for me."
Well that struck a nerve with me. A nerve I don't think I've ever really given much thought to.
Why is she thanking God?
God isn't the one who spent a labor-intensive week making all her dreams come true.
God didn't write the letter to the show that got her foot in the door for making it all happen.
God didn't rebuild her home.
God didn't finance it.
God didn't do it. People did it.
Why is God getting all of the credit?
Why can't we step back and say, "This is amazing. I can't believe so many good-hearted people came together to fulfill a woman's dreams like this."
God didn't hammer all those nails into the walls.
God doesn't have sore muscles from reaching the high places with a paint brush.
People built that home for her. Human beings made that happen.
Sure, we humans have problems. We kill people. We hurt people. We pollute the environment. We neglect our children.
We can be assholes of astronomical proportions.
HOWEVER, there are those of us who do great things like contribute to the college funds of strangers.
There are people in the Middle East who invite our soldiers in for a warm meal on a cold night.
We build houses for the homeless.
We ride bicycles for days on end to raise money to help AIDS patients.
God doesn't do it. We do it.
I'm getting awfully sick of watching God get credit for OUR OWN GREATNESS.
And we are great. No matter how imperfect we are... no matter how imperfect that damn Bible tells us we are... no matter how imperfect all those priests tell us we are...
We are fucking fabulous.
So the next time you get into a car accident and think to yourself, "Thank God my airbag went off and I didn't die," remember who it was who INVENTED that airbag for you. Think of the woman who works on some assembly line in the Midwest. She installed that airbag properly so that you could go home to your family after that accident.
Don't thank God... thank HER.
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