God's Job

Three engineers were sitting around the office one day. One was an electrical engineer, another was a mechanical engineer, and the last was a civil engineer. Suddenly, the mechanical engineer had a revelation about the nature of God. He said to the other two, "God must be a mechanical engineer!" 

His coworkers were startled and confused by their colleagues outburst and one of them asked, "What do you mean?" 

The mechanical expounded on his theory, "Look at the human body, the way the skeletal system works with the muscles and tendons, the joints are fulcrum, and everything works together like a perfect machine. So, God has to be a mechanical engineer." 

The electrical and civil stared back in dismay when the electrical had his own vision,
"No, God is an electrical engineer!" 

The mechanical and civil glared at him incredulously and inquired, "How did you arrive at this conclusion?" 

The electrical elaborated on his hypothesis, "It's true the body is like a perfect machine, but it's electrical impulses that give life to the inanimate apparatus. Our every thought is electrical impulses leaping across conductors, and it's our thoughts that bring us closer to God. Therefore, God is surely an electrical engineer." 

The mechanical looked at the floor despondent that he was obviously wrong, when the civil is touched by the Hand of God and he shouted out, "You are both in error. God is a civil engineer. Look at your crotch and ask yourself, who would run a waste discharge pipe next to a major recreational area? Only a civil engineer would do that. Q.E.D."

I didn't write that joke, although I would love the credit. I'm just not that insightful or thought provoking. I like how humor can illustrate the way we see God through out own biases and function in the world,

•        A stay at home mom will understand God being protective, nurturing, instructive, patient (oh, so patient!), and a loving parent.

•        A homeless person will recognize a God who said He had nowhere to lay His head, and who was chased from town to town by the hierarchy of a corrupt institution that plotted against Him even as He did good.

•        A farmer will relate to a God who takes initiative to plan for the future, who tends to His seedlings, who takes precautions to keep out the bad seeds, and waits patiently (oh, so patiently!) for a bountiful harvest.

•        A fireman will understand a God who is ever watchful, always on duty, and ready to place Himself in harm's way for the sake of others. A God who watches us make the same dumb mistakes over and over again, yet still patiently (oh, so patiently!) comes to the rescue when we need Him.

•        A bartender will commiserate with a God who listens to every one's aspirations, exclamations of joy, but mostly hearing complaints of perceived injustices patiently (oh, so patiently!). The bartender and God would find common ground on dispensing great advice which everyone loves at first, but no one can remember in the morning.

As for me, I do maintenance on motels and housekeeping on the weekends. My blurred and incomplete understanding of God is of one who fixes broken things, cleans up messes, and patiently (oh, so patiently!) understands that care for others is the focus of my work.

Looking back when I was a contractor, I saw God as the Grand Architect, and both He and I built with exacting specifications to protect, provide for, and please our clients.

However, as I write this post I realize that the engineers, the stay at home mom, the homeless person, the farmer, the fireman, the bartender, the maintenance man, housekeeper, and the builder are all wrong. They aren't even close to God's job. They're not in the ball park, and we're not even playing baseball. Yes, it's all quite clear to me now as I pen this paragraph, we need only look to the Bible and it is obvious. It is undeniable.  It is incontrivertable and self-evident...

GOD IS AN AUTHOR!

Quod Errat Demonstratum