Preface: I must explain that the content here has not been spurred by current events. I thought of this years ago and someone made a comment recently about God opening doors that reminded me of my new way of thinking about open doors and that metaphor. I hope you enjoy even if you do not agree or use it.
"God will open another door for you"
"When God closes a door, He opens a window"These are common sayings in Christian circles. I'm sure there are secular equivalents about doors closing and others opening. But I think all of them are inadequate and a misrepresentation of real life and the way opportunities really work. I also think it portrays God in an improper light, against His true character. Let me explain.
Taking this metaphor extremely literally (mostly because I am extremely literal but also because that's where these things affect our views), when an opportunity arises, you see an open door. When you consider or decide to try out the opportunity and it works out, you walk through. When you consider or decide to try out the opportunity and it isn't a good fit or things don't work out, the door closes.
Or at least that's how other people see it...
To me in this metaphor, trying out the opportunity or looking into it would be walking up to the door and trying to walk through. If it doesn't work, the door is slammed in your FACE! That's not the God I know and that's an awful way of looking at opportunities: it either works or UTTERLY FAILS and SLAMS in your FACE!
Here's an alternative to this metaphor that I believe makes more sense and doesn't break your nose:
- An opportunity arises: you notice a door. It might be a dark hallway and a light reveals a doorway you did not see before.
- You look into it, consider it, try it out: you look at the door, see if there's anything you tell about it from this side, then you try the handle.
- If it seems right at first but suddenly ends: the handle turned but the bolt kept the door locked and shut.
- If it is not right: the door is locked and handle will not even turn.
- If this is a good opportunity: the handle turns and depending on the situation, it may require a little pushing, but the door opens.
In this metaphor, there are many nuances that I believe are significant. The original idea hit me all at once and then the nuances came to me with some time after that. With each nuance forming, I have felt more and more confident in this metaphor. I hope it can help others think of their situations in a more positive light.
Anyway, here are some of the advantages in my opinion of this modified metaphor.
REVEALING and CONSIDERING an opportunity
In real life when an opportunity arises, you can't see everything about it at a quick glance, as if the door is hanging wide open. You may see the door down the hallway but ignore it because you do not want to try it. That choice is up to you, but you do not know everything before you even try it. Also what about those times when you feel like you have no options? If a door is hanging wide open, you'd think you'd see it, right? But what about if you're facing the wrong direction because you keep messing with the same door handle... or maybe you haven't walked down to the hallway enough to see that light shining on the door.
TRYING an opportunity
There has to be some sort of trying; it won't just fall in your lap (to borrow from another saying). When the door is open already, there is little effort that you put it in and you'd naturally expect it to stay open. When you turn a handle, you really don't know what will happen but you are putting in effort to see if this could work. Also you know how some doors stick and you might originally think it's locked until you give it an extra shove. Sometimes we give up early because we think it's too much work or that God is "closing that door."
WRONG opportunities
I must acknowledge that sometimes we try to force something when we know it is not right. Some might think that my metaphor does not allow for this situation, but this is when we try to pick the lock, kick down the locked door, or even break the proverbial window.
My final problem with the door being open already that I will address here is that it seems that the opportunity is open and available rather than just being noticed or realized. If the door closes, it's like God changed His mind or worse He is having a good laugh at your expense. This is not my God.
Again I hope you enjoyed thinking through this with me. Even you continue to talk about open doors and closing doors, I pray that this has shed some light on how the old metaphor can lead to misconceptions about what God is doing in your life.
Remember the Lord, like Aslan, is not tame but He is indeed good.
