Surrender to God and he will do everything for you.
It's bad theology.
I wish whoever writes these meditations, or repeats them, such as the Surrender Novena does, would explain to me how this line in any way, at any time, anywhere, makes any rational sense to the Christian.
Better still where is it in the Bible or the Catholic Catechism, or even the teachings of the Early Church Fathers?
If you take the words seriously, it embraces a worldview that rejects personal responsibility, and blames God for the individual's laziness. When you refuse to do what is reasonably expected of you and chaos results, you can blame God, for God didn't do it for you. The line means sit back, do nothing, and your Daddy in heaven will dress you, cloth you, and repair the roof on your house.
Of course that can't be want it means because Christian teaching and the Bible are full of warnings about being responsible, making good decisions, ad performing good works to back up your faith, and waiting patiently for God to change your mind or to bring it about through natural means, perhaps in years to come. There is an aspect of our will needing to align with God's will.
But "Surrender to God and he will do everything for you" sure sounds like the Protestant shibboleth "faith alone," which literally means "do nothing but just sit there and mentally believe that God is your servant and magic genie in a bottle."
Of course "faith aloneites" would distance themselves from such a stupid interpretation.
Isn't that what the words say?
What should they say?
Why don't they say what they should say?
Let's fix this.
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