5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

(This question is a follow-up to “The Decision Of A Lifetime”).

Thank you for your answer regarding Joshua 24:15.  Now a follow-up question: after what Joshua said about making a choice, and this was the time for the Israelites to decide… suppose that some did decide to serve other gods.  My question is: would God be angry at them for opting to serve other gods, or would He just accept it calmly without doing any harm to them and focus on Joshua and his people choosing to serve Jehovah?  Like someone said, this is like a father, son, and uncle (the father's brother).  If the son chooses to live with the uncle rather than the father, the father would feel either angry, jealous, or heart-broken (or maybe all) because the son gives more attention to the uncle than to the father.

Sincerely,
Idol Curiosity

Dear Idol Curiosity,

God would have been, and is, upset when people choose to worship other gods.  Idolatry is always wrong (1 Cor 10:14).  Joshua knew that choosing other gods would have been a horrible decision… and he told Israel that (Josh 24:23).  Joshua was simply reminding them of their freedom to choose – and how important it is to make that choice deliberately.  God gives every one of us the choice between life and death – His desire is that we choose life (Deu 30:19).

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

I don't know what to consider myself anymore.  I feel like I used to be/still am a christian, but I cannot come to terms with certain struggles:

1. If God is omnipotent, then how can we as human beings not be mad at Him for creating such an imperfect world?
2. Did God make a mistake with the world pre-flood?  Why would He destroy it all?  Couldn't He see what it was to become?  Why wouldn't He have created the second world the first time?
3. Does God really bless some people and not others?  Why do even the greatest christians give thanks to God for saving a baby’s life, or so-and-so's life, while others have had to suffer terrible deaths?

Sincerely,
Questioning

Dear Questioning,

We will try and handle each of your concerns in turn:

1. God didn’t create the world imperfect.  When God finished the world, it was perfect (Gen 1:31).  All imperfection that we find in this world is a consequence of our sins (Gen 3:17-19).
2. The problem with the pre-flood world was a manmade one, not a God-made one.  Mankind’s thoughts were violent and sinful (Gen 6:5).  God could see what was happening, but He allowed us to have freewill… and He respects our freedom of choice.
3. God blesses all of mankind (Matt 5:43-48).  All blessings and joy are gifts from our Creator (Jas 1:17).  Death was introduced by sin (Gen 3:3).  When someone dies, that is a consequence of our sin (Rom 6:23)… not a failure on God’s part.

In the end, it is important to remember that God hasn't failed us – He sent His own Son to give us life (Jhn 3:16).  We fail Him when we sin (Rom 3:23).

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom