We all have seen the stickers that say Go is my Co-Pilot. I am going to talk about those briefly and share why God is not my co-pilot but the fact that God is my pilot!
God Is My Pilot Not My Co-Pilot
I really didn’t think much about it until the pastor mentioned about those bumper stickers we see. You see by you saying God is my Co-Pilot you are saying you are co-equal to God. You are saying you don’t totally trust God. You are also saying you are not allowing God to be in charge.
God is not Co- anything with us!
God is not second. God is always first! The word Co- means mutual, the same, joint or common according to Dictionary.com God is not the same as us. We are made in His image, but we are not a god or godlike. We are not even mutual with God or even co-equal with Him.
A Co-Pilot is not in charge!
Did you know a Co-Pilot is not in charge! A Co-Pilot is only there to help when needed from the main pilot. When we say God is the Co-Pilot that means we are the ones piloting and God is not. By saying God is the Co-Pilot we are saying we are in control, we do as we please and go where we want and only let God take over when needed.
God Is My Pilot!
He is in total control! By letting Him fully pilot the plane or ship, He is in control and I trust Him where He takes me.I know he will take me to where I need to go for His Kingdom. When I say He is my pilot, I am showing He is above all else and I am not co-equal with Him. By saying God Is My Pilot I am saying God is in charge! I am also saying that I am not common or the same as God by saying He is my Pilot. I also know God is in charge of everything. I answer to Him at the end.
Let’s make a change and start saying …
GOD IS MY PILOT!
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I believe the original thought behind this statement was to declare the driver’s faith and trust in God and that he/she never drives alone. I don’t think the author intended to argue who was in control. However, I do agree that the phrase can be theologically misleading. I also agree with you that God is not “Co” anything with us. Unfortunately, even when we declare that God is in control of our life’s steering wheel there are times when we try to grab it from him. One thing is to say we trust Him in the driver’s seat and another is to actually relax and close our eyes while he drives.
Thanks for your comment Joe.
I first heard the statement “God is my Pilot not my Co-Pilot”, more than 10 years ago in a Sunday School lesson. The author made The same argument as you, with a similar explanation. Back then the moment my eye’s passed over the words “God is not my Co-Pilot”, I new in my heart something just wasn’t right. That’s the way it usually works with me, I will know immediately something is wrong but will not be able to articulate it.
To give some foundation here I must explain that I was in the Air Force for 22 years in the enlisted ranks. I have flown on military and civilian aircraft many times and understand the relationship between pilot and passenger.
Also the phrase “God is my Co-Pilot” Is actually the title of a book written by pilot, Col Robert L. Scott Jr. who flew with the famed Flying Tigers in WW II. He flew the P-51 Mustang, a single seat, propeller driven, fighter plane the best of it’s day. Computors in aircraft were decades away and planes of the early 1940s had very few hydraulics. Although one of the best planes back then it was still very much, stick and rudder. Both radio and radar was in their infancy. So you can understand that when a pilot took off he was by himself.
Like your other blogger stated and like Col Scott said in his book the original idea was not up there alone.
The pilot is responsible for the safety of his crew, passengers, cargo and plane. The pilot decides whether the plane flies straight ahead, banks right or left, goes up or down, the pilot physically puts the plane on its course.
The analogy. For you and me the phrase God is my Pilot or Co-Pilot is an analogy. Pilot being an aeronautical term, what are the representations? The plane represents my life, pilot represents my body. So the question is, who is controlling the body? My spirit or God? Flying a plane just like driving a car or steering a boat there can only be one set of hands on the wheel. So again the real question here is, who is flying the plane?
Your position is that God cannot be relegated to a mere co-pilot position he has to be the Pilot. Then I have to ask this question, if God is the pilot then what are you? Pilot or Passenger?
The Carrie Underwood song, “Jesus take the wheel”, has spawned an entire generation of easy believism. It belies a life so messed up that you throw your hands up and say ok that’s it I’m done, here God you drive. So God drives and I just sit in the passenger seat.
If you are nothing more than a passenger then life is good, just sit back in your seat and push the stewardess button and yell where’s my peanuts, and one of the angels will be right there to see to your needs. Oh and they better have good movie on this flight.
No where in the bible is it said we can just quit flying our plane.
Ephesians 6:11 says, Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
This and literally the entire word of God tells us to fly the plane, be ready, nowhere does it say to stop flying our plane.
To be fair, God is my Co-Pilot was the absolute correct thing for Col Scott to say, but maybe not for us in this age. There is no doubt we must fly our own plane therefore God is not the Pilot of our plane. Then what is God’s place in all this? Who can see all the obstacles in the sky? Like the ultimate Air Traffic Controller God gives the course to fly, but it is up to us to physically change the course of our plane. This is where true faith in God comes. How many times did God tell the prophets to fly their planes into the storm. A great example of this is Jonah. God told Jonah to fly his plane to somewhere he did not want to go. What did he do, flew his plane in the opposite direction and we all know how that ended.
In the early 1940s Col Scott did not have the benefit of Air Traffic Control, but today we do. So can God be my Pilot? If God has to fly my plane then what good am I? No, I pilot my plane God is the supreme Air Traffic Controller.
Hey thanks for the comment and also thank you for your service to our country. I also appreciate your input. Something to think about.