Is God In A Bad Mood?

“I think God is out to get me!” George Castanza once said to Jerry on the popular Seinfeld television sitcom.
“I thought you didn’t believe in God,” Jerry answered.
“I do for the bad stuff!” George replied.

George’s comical answer reflects a sad attitude common among many people, even many Christians. Legalistic religion often paints a portrayal of a god who is perturbed most of the time, if not downright angry. After all, when you consider that sin runs rampant in the world and if you add to the equation that even Christians can’t seem to get it right much of the time, why wouldn’t God be in a bad mood?

God in a bad mood? That concept carries some serious implications. I’m reminded of a tee shirt I saw in a store which read, “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” Transfer that viewpoint onto Deity and we’re all in serious trouble! If God is in a bad mood, then all of creation had better tow the line because if He were angry and if His anger were to be stirred up, it’s no small matter.

Is God short-tempered? Does His patience wear thin when His children don’t act the way they should? The fact is that nothing could be further from the truth. If you believe otherwise, your faulty beliefs are going to be a major hindrance in your enjoyment of Him. After all, who wants to be close to somebody who is scowling at them? Especially if that Person is God.

To experience genuine intimacy with the Father, it may be necessary for your current understanding of His demeanor to be completely dismantled. I’ll state the truth as plainly as possible – God is in a good mood! He isn’t edgy about all that is going on in this world. God doesn’t bite His fingernails or take Maalox for a nervous stomach.

We can know that God is in a good mood because of Jesus. In the incarnation of Christ, God can be seen running out of heaven toward man with a big smile on His face. In fact, the birth of Jesus was surrounded with jubilant celebration in the heavenly realm. One angel, shouting with enthusiasm above the others, was heard to say, “I bring you good news of great joy, which shall come to all people” (Luke 2:10, emphasis added). Good news of great joy – that sounds like a reason for a party!

It’s noteworthy that His first miracle was performed at a wedding party. (John 2:1-11) One of the last things He told His disciples before leaving this world was that He wanted them to continue to be full of the joy they had seen in Him. (John 15:11) Jesus was a fun-loving person.

If your mental picture of Him is that He was a religious sourpuss, you had better take another look. The people who were attracted to Him were dishonest businessmen, vulgar sailors, prostitutes, and the like – none of which you could exactly call “churchy people.” His opponents, on the other hand, came from a hyper-religious crowd who couldn’t crack a smile if their lives depended on it.This uptight, hyper-religious crowd once even challenged Him about his lifestyle. Jesus answered them,

For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, “He has a demon!” The Son of Man has come eating and drinking and you say, “Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Luke 7:33-34)!

You just can’t please the Pharisaical hyper-religious crowd who love rules more than people. Even Jesus couldn’t! Of course we know that Jesus wasn’t a glutton and a drunkard, but the point to be understood here is that He obviously wasn’t so tightly wound that He didn’t enjoy life. He came into this world in the midst of celebration, lived a life of joy (even amidst great sorrow) and on the last night of His life here challenged the disciples to hold on to that same joy.

Since Jesus said that He and His Father are one, we can understand much about the Father by looking at Jesus. Judging from Him, our God isn’t a cranky old Deity who doesn’t enjoy laughter and joy. To the contrary, He is its ultimate source of celebration and pleasure. He is a happy Father who has everything under control. He has already written the ending to this story that is actually His story and it's a good ending. So let's not draw a caricature of Him in our minds by imagining a crotchety old Deity who is in a bad mood. Nothing could be more wrong.