I never saw The Stepford Wives. First, I didn’t want to.  Second, I didn’t need to because a quick movie review in the local paper told me everything I needed to know.  The plot was basic; wives are created to be perfect, just the way men want them to be, never having an opinion or voicing disagreement, always cooking and cleaning and being pretty much perfect in they eyes of men.

It is easy for me to make Jesus into a sort of Stepford God for myself.  It is my tendency as a fallen, sinful human to view Jesus in light of my selfishness, and my selfish nature always wants to create the easiest, most convenient scenario.  Therefore, I must fight the battle daily to not be overcome by worldliness and greed, materialism and shallownes, and in turn make Jesus my Stepford God who does what I want Him to when I snap my fingers or throw up a quick prayer with His name tagged on the end of it.

One of the most dangerous things about making God in our own image (imagining God in terms of a god we would prefer, one that we would like, or what we would be like if we were god) is that we are motivated, often times, by sin and sin alone.  This is what makes Jesus so unique.  He is not a Stepford God because HE CONTRADICTS US.  He tells us that we are NOT the big deal.

Jesus has the audacity to claim to be the greatest King of all the Kings in history and the mightiest Lord among the laundry list of rulers that spans time.  He doesn’t fit my mold.  He tells me when I am wrong, when I need to repent, and when I need to change my attitudes and actions to line up with His example and His expectations.

In other words, we don’t boss Jesus around.  We, instead, yield our ways to His commands.  When He contradicts us through His word or the Holy Spirit, He does it out of love for us in complete authority, with our best interest at heart.  Our best response is humble obedience.