In The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, which is one of C.S. Lewis’ books in the Narnia series, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy meet Mr. and Mrs. Beaver. Surprisingly, Mr. Beaver states that Aslan, the lion, is not safe but he is good. How can this be? The Bible says that Jesus was overcome with holy zeal when He saw the moneychangers and salesmen in the holy temple. When He finished braiding a whip, He overturned the tables and drove the evildoers out. What He did was definitely not safe for the wicked, but He was doing the right thing.

Another meaning of what Mr. Beaver said is that Aslan is not a tame lion. In other words, God is not manipulatable; He cannot be controlled. Thinking that God is a vending machine, many people act morally and believe that God is there to serve them and grant their wishes like a magic fairy. They think they can just insert the dollar bill right-side-up, press a couple of buttons, and get whatever they want while thinking it is God’s duty to serve them when they are good. When Job, a godly man, was cursed, he asked God what he had done to deserve the bad things that happened to him. He had been a good person all of his life. He thought he deserved only good things, not bad. God replied, “Where were you when I made the world, Job?” God wanted Job to see his own insignificance, quit trying to instruct God, and learn humility. Job did not have any part in creation, nor did he instruct God on how to make the universe. He thought that God had to reward him because he had been good. He was trying to manipulate God.

Romans 11:35 says, “For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counselor? This shows that God is not predictable and He was never made to serve us; we were made for Him. He’s not a tame lion. He will not be manipulated. The moneychangers discovered that He rewards people according to their works, and As Job discovered he could not instruct God to do things his way. As we walk with the Lord, we will discover that all His ways are good as His dealings bring us closer to Him.