Do your Gods dictate?

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[Juniper]

Of the following, which kind of relationship do you have with your God(s)?

-One of command. Your God tells you want to do, and you do it
-A little more courteous than the first; your God asks you to do something and you do it
-Your God asks you to do something and hopes that you do it
-Your God suggests that you do something, and then leaves you to decide
-Your God doesn't tell you anything and leaves you to do what you want.

My answer lies somewhere between the last two. I get the impression that my Gods leave hints as to what they suggest I do, but generally they leave me to make my own decisions.

How about you?

[HeartShadow - Cutethulhu]

It varies between one and three - sometimes going through two.

I definitely think there's stuff I REALLY SHOULD DO.  And if I don't do those .. well, there's a very grumpy presence in the back of my head.  There aren't exactly negative consequences for not doing it - but I feel like pond scum.  Because I'm not being asked to do anything that isn't something I probably *should* do anyway.

If I was asked to do something I found morally objectionable, that would be a very different situation, clearly.

[Star]

How about you?

I don't often get tasks, so I guess right now it's mostly the last one.  When I do, though, it's a pretty firm command.  It's "do this", not "would you pretty please do this, if you don't mind too much".  Generally what Shad said about consequences and being "asked" to do what I should be doing anyway, though.  That, and I sort of see it as a trade-off; I don't get as many assignments, but I've got less latitude for turning them down or ignoring them, especially without a really good reason.

[Nehet]

-One of command. Your God tells you want to do, and you do it

I've had this twice.  The first time was when I was just starting to keep a shrine in my room...while simultaneously using my room as a dumping ground for random crap that didn't fit in the living room.  It was a mess.  I never spent any time there.  The fact that my patron didn't like that seems like it should be a no-brainer now, but at the time, I was so depressed, slothful and unmotivated.  I think the command was as much about Him wanting me to snap out of it and start taking better care of myself as it was about making a suitable space for a shrine.

The other command happened recently, and it was about using caution with a potentially risky situation that I probably don't understand as well as I'd like to think.  I was being stubborn about it, and I wasn't listening to gentle advice. 

-A little more courteous than the first; your God asks you to do something and you do it

Yeah, that happens.  Usually this is around things like what kind of offerings the Gods want at the moment. 

-Your God asks you to do something and hopes that you do it

Hmm...I don't think I've gotten this, "pretty please" thing as Absentminded described.  Usually the Gods ask me to do things in a gentle way, but there's still an expectation that I'll do them even if they're not easy for me to do. 

-Your God suggests that you do something, and then leaves you to decide

Occasionally I get "You know, you should be more mindful about what you've been doing with regards to X.  I'm not going to tell you what to do, I'm only going to tell you that X is more important than you think.  If you continue to do X the same way you've always done it, that's fine.  But think about why you're doing it."

So, it's a command to decide for myself   

[HeartShadow - Cutethulhu]

Occasionally I get "You know, you should be more mindful about what you've been doing with regards to X.  I'm not going to tell you what to do, I'm only going to tell you that X is more important than you think.  If you continue to do X the same way you've always done it, that's fine.  But think about why you're doing it."

So, it's a command to decide for myself   

That.  I get that a lot.

"are you SUUUUUUUURE you want to do things this way?  go think."

[Juniper]

If I was asked to do something I found morally objectionable, that would be a very different situation, clearly.

This has made me think of another question:

When your God tells you what to do do you usually feel as though it is the 'right' thing to do? If you do feel it is right does that have anything to do with the fact that your God told you to do it?

[Nehet]

When your God tells you what to do do you usually feel as though it is the 'right' thing to do? If you do feel it is right does that have anything to do with the fact that your God told you to do it?

Yes, and Yes.  

I tend to operate from the assumption that the Gods are more advanced beings than we are, and that they know what's moral because they have more awareness of situations, actions and how they might affect other beings.  

I have never had the sense that the Gods were telling me to do anything that seemed morally objectionable.  If they did, I think I'd assume that it was my own random head noise and didn't actually come from the Gods. Of course, my path is largely about ethics.  Gods telling me not to uphold Ma'at isn't at all congruent with Kemeticism.

At the same time, I don't believe any one God is omniscient, so I'm open to the possibility that they make mistakes.

[Star]

Hmm...I don't think I've gotten this, "pretty please" thing as Absentminded described. 

I have collected another evil twin.  Score! 

[Marilyn (ABSENTMINDED)]

Hmm...I don't think I've gotten this, "pretty please" thing as Absentminded described.

It's not so much 'pretty please' as 'what'll it cost me this time?'.  I'm an obstinate but eminently bribe-able devotee.  Those who try to be reasonably agreeable wind up with a lot more to do than I do.  They may be better-loved as well, but I'm not sure on that front.  After all, parents love the obstreperous child as much as the biddable one - they just count on them for different things.  (according to my parents, anyway - I don't have kids)

Absent

[Star]

It's not so much 'pretty please' as 'what'll it cost me this time?'.  I'm an obstinate but eminently bribe-able devotee. 

Or maybe the reference to what Marilyn had said was a reference to another thread and my tired brain missed it and just picked up on the "pretty please" example I'd posted in this one...  Never mind me, I'm not quite awake yet.

[Marilyn (ABSENTMINDED)]

Or maybe the reference to what Marilyn had said was a reference to another thread and my tired brain missed it and just picked up on the "pretty please" example I'd posted in this one...  Never mind me, I'm not quite awake yet.

That's what I was missing.  I knew I hadn't posted in this thread yet and was kind of confused to see my name.  I know I've talked about my transactional relationship before, though, so it seemed reasonable that it could translate that way.

Not quite awake here either.  I've just seen hubby off to work and can't go back to bed like I normally do because I have to pack us up for a trip.  Probably shouldn't be posting so much at this hour of the morning.

Absent

[RandallS]

How about you?

Sometimes #1, although less often in recent years. Normally these days it is either #4 or #5.

[Marilyn (ABSENTMINDED)]

I have collected another evil twin.  Score! 

More awake now, and realised what you were responding to.

Do I have to be evil?  I kind of view myself as chaotic neutral.

Absent

[Star]

Do I have to be evil?  I kind of view myself as chaotic neutral.

Eh, that works too. 

[HeartShadow - Cutethulhu]

This has made me think of another question:

When your God tells you what to do do you usually feel as though it is the 'right' thing to do? If you do feel it is right does that have anything to do with the fact that your God told you to do it?

I don't think I assume it's right *just because* a god asked me.

That said, I will certainly give it more WEIGHT than, say, if a random person in TC chat suggests something.  Simply because, y'know, God vs. person.

But so far, Apollo has a good batting average, too.  So, y'know, I'm going to give it DAMN good consideration ......

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