History Main / TheGodsMustBeLazy

This is to prevent the feeling of DeusExMachina, but in-story it doesn't work well, the message seeming to be that GoodIsImpotent and BeingGoodSucks, but EvilIsCool and EvilIsEasy. The explanation for this is usually that {{God}} solving people's problems would prevent free will... but if you think about it, demons coming to wreak havoc on all mankind sure is screwing around with free will and the least the angels could do is get off their bums and [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil keep a damn balance]]. In the worst case-scenarios, this can lead to characters enacting some form of {{revenge}} for such ignorance by starting a RageAgainstTheHeavens, undergoing a HeelFaithTurn, becoming a NayTheist or choosing to KillTheGod.

This is to prevent the feeling of DeusExMachina, but in-story it doesn't work well, the message seeming to be that GoodIsImpotent and BeingGoodSucks, but EvilIsCool. The explanation for this is usually that {{God}} solving people's problems would prevent free will... but if you think about it, demons coming to wreak havoc on all mankind sure is screwing around with free will and the least the angels could do is get off their bums and [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil keep a damn balance]]. In the worst case-scenarios, this can lead to characters enacting some form of {{revenge}} for such ignorance by starting a RageAgainstTheHeavens, undergoing a HeelFaithTurn, becoming a NayTheist or choosing to KillTheGod.

This is to prevent the feeling of DeusExMachina, but in-story it doesn't work well, the message seeming to be that GoodIsImpotent and BeingGoodSucks, but EvilIsCool. The explanation for this is usually that {{God}} solving people's problems would prevent free will... but if you think about it, demons coming to wreak havoc on all mankind sure is screwing around with free will and the least the angels could do is get off their bums and [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil keep a damn balance]]. In the worst case-scenarios, this can lead to characters enacting some form of {{revenge}} for such ignorance by undergoing a HeelFaithTurn, becoming a NayTheist or choosing to KillTheGod.

In a setting where there are demons and angels or the equivalent forces of cosmic evil and good, evil will go out into the world and raze villages, kill people and destroy the countryside. {{God}}, meanwhile, will be impotent and only exist as a symbolic force to inspire the heroes. Either that or you'll have the PowersThatBe, incapable or unwilling to stop the rogue GodOfEvil. Either way, they won't have a hands-on approach.

This is to prevent the feeling of DeusExMachina, but in-story it doesn't work well. The message seeming to be that [[GoodIsImpotent good deities are entirely useless]] but [[EvilIsCool evil deities can do whatever they want]]. The explanation for this is usually that {{God}} solving people's problems would prevent free will... but if you think about it, demons coming from another world to wreak havoc on all mankind sure is screwing around with free will and the least the angels could do is get off their bums and [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil keep a damn balance]].

Another explanation is that good "plays by the rules" and both sides "promised" not to interfere on Earth... but in practice, evil can lie, and figures losing a few demons to humans is a cheap price for the unopposed demons everywhere else. Inevitably, [[TheCavalryArrivesLate the angels only come help once the mortals have done in the bad guys]], or when the bad guys have grown so powerful that only a DeusExMachina could possibly stop them. Any celestial good-aligned being that's proactive will inevitably be eviler than the basest villain [[WellIntentionedExtremist in practice if not intent]], [[KnightTemplar intent as well as practice]], or simply quickly done away with.

It may also be that it's actually more acceptable to show the forces of evil than the forces of good. For instance, you have shows like ''Series/{{Reaper}}'' where TheDevil is a main character. Conversely, there was [[Series/JoanOfArcadia a short-lived show where the main character talked to God]]. Guess which one the MoralGuardians really brought the hammer down on? And some religions dislike the display of images of their deities. It might also be more about the fact that if you have good-mortals-plus-angels vs. evil-mortals-plus-demons then the battle is too even, so to have the good mortals fighting against impossible odds the angels have to sit it out because [[UnderdogsNeverLose The Underdogs]] are always who the audience is supposed to root for.

This trope is a bit influenced by a change in attitudes about real-life war & conquest in the 20th century. Just declaring war and rolling in the troops is something the "bad guys" did (like World War II Nazis), while inspiring resistance forces from afar with weapons and supplies, but letting the fight ultimately be up to the locals, is more the "good guys" style. (Yes, there's quite a lot of asterisks to this in the real world.)

See Also: GodsHandsAreTied, GoodIsImpotent, PowersThatBe, HaveYouSeenMyGod. If the good deities aren't just lazy but flat-out don't exist, that's DevilButNoGod.

The trope-name comes from the film ''Film/TheGodsMustBeCrazy''. If this trope is averted (i.e. the Gods take a very active role in fighting evil), see HeavenVersusHell, and GodIsGood. The villainous version of this is OrcusOnHisThrone.

** Beings like [[GalacticConqueror Freeza]] from ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' (who had conquered/destroyed hundreds of planets) are apparently beneath the notice of the gods, but if there's a threat to multiple galaxies, or the universe (such as Buu), they'll take direct action. In ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', Gowasu, U10's Supreme Kai, states that the Kais are not allowed to interfere with mortal affairs. Their job is to create life, watch over the mortals, and give them guidance. The only gods who are allowed to interact in the mortal realm are the Gods of Destruction. The situation with Buu was presumably an exception since he attacked the Kais first. His apprentice [[DarkMessiah Zamasu]], [[HumansAreFlawed who looks down on the mortal races with disdain for never seeming to learn their lessons]], disagrees and believes this non-intervention policy actually hurts the multiverse. [[spoiler:Eventually, Zamasu decides to stop being lazy and goes about doing what he feels is necessary for protecting the universe... by killing all the mortals and all the gods who get in his way]].
** Part of Beerus' duty as a God of Destruction is to wipe out [[PayEvilUntoEvil evil mortals who misuse the knowledge of the gods]], but he spends most of his time eating and sleeping, as shown in ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods''. He should have killed Majin Buu before he wiped out most of the Supreme Kais and left his universe with only the IncompletelyTrained Shin (who has been called Supreme Kai throughout ''Z''), but he slept through the whole thing. Also, not only did he let Frieza run rampant throughout the cosmos, he actually encouraged Frieza's actions by approving of his genocide of the Saiyans. When Gods of Destruction from other universes are introduced, it's revealed that several of them are far more efficient than he.
** In the Universe Survival Saga, Zen'o, the [[TopGod Omni-King]] who rules over the multiverse, decides that he's tired of keeping track of 12 separate universes and wants to clean house. The universes are rated by "mortal level", a measure of how developed its mortal inhabitants are, which is also a reflection on each universe's Gods and how well they've been doing their jobs. The top four are safe, while the bottom eight have to participate in a tournament. Each universe with assemble a team of ten warriors, who will take part in a battle royale. Only the last team standing gets their universe spared. Universe 7, the setting of the ''Manga/DragonBall'' franchise, has the second-lowest mortal level because its God of Destruction Beerus is a slacker, while there's only been one Kaioshin for the last five million years or so[[note]]technically two once the Old Kai (the Eastern Kaioshin from 15 generations ago) is freed from the Z Sword, but it's unclear if he plays an active role in the CelestialBureaucracy since the current Kaioshin fills his former position[[/note]], meaning the universe has mostly been left to its own devices and at the mercy of people like Freeza and Buu.

* At the start of ''VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniaV'', the four CPU goddesses ([[Creator/{{Sega}} Neptune]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} Blanc]], [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 Noire]], and [[UsefulNotes/XBox360 Vert]]) have slacked off from their work because there is no more threat from any piracy group. Histoire kicks them out to do some work in which, Neptune finds herself [[BadassDecay going from level 99]] [[RestartAtLevelOne back to level one]]. Oh and thanks to them slacking off, someone started a group to ''actually kick the gods out'' and become independent from their rule (which is one of the main plots of the game).

** Lucifer left hell because he felt like it, a far cry from his imprisonment back in Dante Alghieri's day. In ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', all God does about this is damn two more angels to look after the place.
*** The implication was that Lucifer was imprisoned in hell, not by the power of God but his own pride that wouldn't allow him to admit that he wasn't there of his own free will. In ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' continuity this applies to everyone in hell; anyone, damned or demon can leave the place at any time if they really want to, but most are too tied up with their guilt or hate to realize this. This also applies to Remiel, one of the two angels sent down in Lucifer's replacement, but not Duma who knows exactly what the deal with hell is, but stays there anyway.

* This trope motivates the plot of ComicBook/{{Preacher}}. When Jessie Custer is given the power of The Word, a combined demonic/angelic force, he learns that God has abandoned his post in heaven and left humanity to fend for itself. He's slumming somewhere on Earth, so Jessie rounds up some friends and begins a quest to find the Almighty and tell him to get back to work.
* ComicBook/{{Valhalla}}: Odin frequently qualifies as this. In "The Golden Apples", Odin and Loki knowingly hang back and let Thor go through the hassle of capturing their meal by himself. When Roskva asks Tjalfe why Odin doesn't help, Tjalfe says that Odin's a king and kings don't have to work. Roskva then asks if [[BrilliantButLazy Loki]] is a king, too.

* ''FanFic/RosarioVampireBrightestDarkness'': For all of their claims that they want to protect humanity, the Almighty and the angels typically just sit back and watch as Tsukune and his pals fight for their lives against such threats as [[AntiHumanAlliance Fairy Tale]] and [[EldritchAbomination Alucard]]. Rason even calls them on it in Act IV chapter 16, where they blatantly refuse to intervene against Hokuto's plan to revive Alucard.
* In the ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' fic ''[[FanFic/BoundDestiniesTrilogy Wisdom and Courage]]'', Din, Nayru, and Farore essentially just sit back and watch as [[BigBad Veran]] steals their [[MacGuffin Triforce]] and uses it to commit all manner of atrocities ForTheEvulz. At one point, Link and Zelda, the Goddesses' [[TheChosenOne chosen ones]], even outright wonder ''why'' the Goddesses aren't doing anything about Veran; they only strip Veran of the Triforce when she's been fatally impaled on the Master Sword, ''after'' she's used its power to completely destroy both Hyrule ''and'' Termina and killed hundreds of innocent people in cold blood.
* Averted in another Legend of Zelda fic, [[https://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/s/legend-of-zelda-fan-fiction/the-legend-of-link-lucky-number-13/19769 The Legend of Link: Lucky Number 13]]. Gods are free to intervene in mortal affairs in any way they see fit, including creating/destroying new species, entire planets, and possibly even ''universes.'' Savvy gods like Link Sr deliberately "farm" mortals (notably the Sermonians) by giving them power and resources [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly in exchange for worship]].

* This is the main theme of many of the ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality'' books. The characters assume {{God}} isn't acting because he's following the rules, except it turns out that God is not acting because he's busy admiring his own magnificence, and that all of {{Satan}}'s [[EvilPlan Evil Plans]] are part of a BatmanGambit trying to get him to act (hence SatanIsGood). [[spoiler:Eventually the mortal governments of the world impeach God and boot Him out of office]]. No, really.

* Videogame/GrimFandango: The only rule that the Powers That Be actually enforce is "you can't buy your way into heaven." The people who try that get what's coming to them, but you don't get any sympathy if your ticket is stolen.
* Philemon, from ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series, is the ultimate mass of all positive and benevolent emotions and acts in humanity. He's locked in an eternal war with Nyarlathotep, his EvilCounterpart, who's born of all evil acts and thoughts of humanity. Likes to empower kids and send them to do the job.
** Philemon and Nyarlathotep [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil have rules limiting their power use, to keep one or the other from kicking over the table in a full-power ambush]]. Nyarlathotep invests his allotment in a single agent, who uses the power as a crutch and barely develops it further. Philemon [[FridgeBrilliance built a cosmic vending machine to give a little power to any who ask]], then offers incentives to [[LevelGrinding grow that power on their own]], [[GoodIsNotDumb multiplying his investment]] with ThePowerOfFriendship. No one death can ruin his plans, barring [[VideoGame/{{Persona 3}} exceptional]] [[VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} circumstances]]. The one time Philemon does act directly at the end of ''[[VideoGame/{{Persona 2}} Innocent Sin]]'', he's so drained afterward that he's ''still'' recovering as of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'', set seemingly decades later.
* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'': While the GreaterScopeVillain creator of the Palace seems to be spreading access to his EldritchLocation to multiple individuals and filling an underground labyrinth with monsters, the BigGood Igor just sits in his room and fuses new {{Guardian Entit|y}}ies for you. [[spoiler:Subverted when it turns out: a) the Greater Scope Villain has been impersonating Igor, explaining his general disinterest. b) The real Igor created MrExposition Morgana to help you, and his assistant Lavenza has been appearing to you as a ButterflyOfDeathAndRebirth throughout the game.]]
* The latter case was used in ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}} II'', where Archangel Tyrael is considered somewhat of a rogue by the rest of the CouncilOfAngels for meddling in mortal matters an unseemly amount of the time, including once engaging both Diablo and Baal by himself.

** The tendency continued in VideoGame/DiabloIII - the divine Angiris Council refuse to get involved in the war between human and demons at all until [[spoiler: the heavens themselves are invaded by Diablo]]. Once again, only Tyrael, the Archangel of Justice, is interested in lending a hand - and he is [[spoiler: put on trial for 'breaking the rules' and chooses to discard his immortality and become human]] rather than be forced to sit on his hands like the rest of the angels. And while there's quite a bit of NiceJobBreakingItHero involved in the ending, one cannot help but imagine that things would've never gone that far if the angels had been willing to lend a hand instead of forcing the humans to adopt untested and risky methods of demon-slaying in a desperate bid for survival...

** In ''[[Videogame/TheElderscrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', Akatosh (and possibly Talos) do take steps to protect Nirn, by arranging for [[TheChosenOne the Dragonborn]] to arrive in Skyrim at the same time as Alduin returns to the world.

* Thoroughly averted by Palkia in ''Videogame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers''. As soon as space begins distorting he attempts to halt it with his powers, and when pointed towards the ones responsible, he seeks them out personally. When it's revealed that he'd been deceived, he once again personally goes after the ''real'' culprit and wrecks him. Dialga also averts it to a lesser degree; using his temporal powers to [[spoiler:revive the player after they're erased by a paradox]], and as [[spoiler:Primal Dialga]] he personally attempts to stop the group from returning to the past. Played straight by [[spoiler:Arceus]] until the end of Grovyle's story though.

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' has Yukari Yakumo, who's not actually a god (she's a {{youkai}} instead), but [[RealityWarper stronger than]] [[OddJobGod most actual gods]] and is the creator of Gensokyo (the pocket dimension that the games take place in), who takes this trope to an artform. Not only does she tend to sleep for twelve hours a day, only awakening at night, but she's also known to sleep through winter (her subordinates even say she's "hibernating"). And when she ''is'' awake she much prefers to use the local {{miko}} to do things for her while annoying/flirting with her.

* In ''Franchise/DragonAge'', all of the gods are either absent, never existed in the first place, were never really gods, or dead. The Maker is the most mysterious one of them all. It's never made clear if he has abandoned Thedas, is just lazy, or just never existed at all. This does not stop people praying to him in the DarkestHour. There are hints that the timely coincidences that help save the day are The Maker's work, but nothing is ever confirmed. Solas of ''Videogame/DragonAgeInquisition'' claims that this is a positive trait, since no true god needs to prove its power to anyone. "Gods" that do flaunt their power inevitably are nothing but trouble. Since the creators of the franchise have stated that The Maker represents "faith", we will likely never get a clear answer. [[spoiler: Solas turns out to actually be a god himself; although he insists he's not one his actual power level is so far above anyone else active in the setting the difference is fairly academic.]]

* ''WebComic/ExterminatusNow'' features both light and dark gods. While the Dark Gods seem to treat their followers with [[BadBoss suspicion, contempt and outright mocking]], the light gods are more apathetic, even to the Mobian Inquisition that serves them. At one point, an angel comes down to tell the main characters that the gods are having a disagreement that is "beyond (their) reckoning," which [[http://exterminatusnow.co.uk/2010-08-21/comic/voiding-your-warranty/monopolytheism-justice-edition/ turns out]] to be an argument about who gets to be the race car in TabletopGame/{{Monopoly}}.

* ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'':

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* This seems to be the case as of Season 4 of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', according to [[spoiler:Castiel, the resident angel]].
** As it turns out [[spoiler: God was there the whole time in the form of Chuck. The reason he didn't directly interfere more than once was because he wanted the "story" to be interesting, and a DeusExMachina is not the greatest storytelling technique out there.]]

* While not gods exactly, the Ancients of ''Series/StargateSG1'' and ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' are a good example, as they have AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence. Their belief in free will, coupled with their higher understanding of the universe making earth's troubles seem insignificant results in them enforcing a law of non interference, even if the fate of a galaxy is at stake. Notably, not all Ancients feel this way, such as Oma Desala, Merlin and Morgan Le Fay, but most of those who want to help are kept in check by the rest.
** They do earn credit for (passively) holding the Ori [[note]]another group of super-powered ascended beings with the exact opposite opinion, i.e. "We are powerful, worship us or die!"[[/note]] in check, having kept them from finding out about the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. We just never actually see that.
* On ''Series/BabylonFive'', while the Shadows are quite active the Vorlons seem more interested in being mysterious. Then again in the end the Vorlons turn out to not exactly be good.
** And then there was Lorien, who sat for a million odd years at the bottom of a pit, twiddling his non-corporeal thumbs....

* In the original ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}'', the "angels" on the Ship of Light explain why they don't stop Count Iblis, a renegade member of their order. "Because we cannot interfere with freedom of choice. Yours, his, anybody's." However, they did tend to abduct several Galactica viper pilots for whatever reason. They also later recruited Apollo to save an Earthlike world from destroying itself. So, obviously, they're not above using agents to interfere since the agents would have to be acting out of their own choice. And with Ibis, they prevent him from using his powers on anyone who rejects him. He can only use his powers for people who freely accept him. If they refuse he is not allowed to kill them or anything else.
* In the ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' episode "The Well", Coulson complains about the lack of the Norse god of "cleaning up after yourself" when dealing with the aftermath of ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'''s climax.
* in the ''[[Series/Lucifer2016 Lucifer]]'' TV series Lucifer Morningstar, former King of hell turned Hollywood nightclub owner and part-time "Handsome Devil Cop" sidekick to a female homicide detective, gets to play around and do whatever he likes. But sometimes he sulks because "Dad" is not talking to him or doing much of anything except sending an angel to try to get him to go back to hell. [[spoiler:Until the last episode of the first series.]]
* In the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Sacrifice of Angels," Sisko calls out the Prophets for pretending they can't get involved in the Dominion War (after cheerfully interfering in other matters):
-->'''Prophet:''' Corporeal matters do not concern us.
-->'''Sisko:''' The hell they don't. What about Bajor? You can't tell me that Bajor doesn't concern you. You've sent the Bajorans orbs and Emissaries -- you've encouraged them to create an entire religion around you. You even told me once that you were "of Bajor!" So don't tell me you're not "concerned" with corporeal matters. I don't want to see Bajor destroyed and neither do you. And we all know that's exactly what's going to happen if the Dominion takes over the Alpha Quadrant. You say you don't want me to sacrifice my life -- fine, neither do I. You want to be gods -- then be gods. I need a miracle. ''Bajor'' needs a miracle. '''''Stop those ships!'''''

* Just take a look at some ComicBook/ChickTracts. {{Satan}} is all over the place, ready to corrupt the nonbeliever (i.e., anyone who doesn't subscribe to Jack Chick's particular interpretation of Christianity), occasionally in a [[LouisCypher very thin disguise]], while {{God}} is basically sitting on his throne waiting for them to say the prayer at the end of the tract. Sure, occasionally he sends some angels around to try to save the hapless heathens, but they're not very good at it. To the extent that the most useful tool in their bag of tricks appears to be tripping old ladies.

* This trope motivates the entire plot of ComicBook/{{Preacher}}. When Jessie Custer is given the power of The Word, a combined demonic/angelic force, he learns that God has abandoned his post in heaven and left humanity to fend for itself. He's slumming somewhere on Earth, so Jessie rounds up some friends and begins a quest to find the Almighty and tell him to get back to work.

* Averted in another Legend of Zelda fic, [[https://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/s/legend-of-zelda-fan-fiction/the-legend-of-link-lucky-number-13/19769 The Legend of Link: Lucky Number 13]]. Gods are free to intervene in mortal affairs in pretty much any way they see fit, including creating/destroying new species, entire planets, and possibly even entire ''universes.'' Savvy gods like Link Sr deliberately "farm" mortals (notably the Sermonians) by giving them power and resources [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly in exchange for worship]].

* In ''Film/MortalKombat2021'', Shang Tsung outright says that the Elder Gods other than Raiden are too lazy to stop him from basically just flouting the rules of Mortal Kombat, as well as doing stuff like invading Raiden's temple and general cheating.

* The whole point of Deism. Basically, an almighty figure created the universe, and after that either went away or just stopped interfering in the fabric of reality. European Enlightenment thinkers didn't believe this was a CosmicHorrorStory, because for them, Deism allows for the existence of God without the necessity of miracles and means that if you cannot accept the whole "God's will" thing at face value, scientists can get on with their business without fear of committing blasphemy. Their religious view is often ascribed to by those who think that people can control their own fate without divine intervention.

* In the ''Literature/EaCycle'' series, all of the planetfuls of powers of goodness stay out of Ea, even though the fate of the entire universe is at stake.

* ''Literature/DragonLance''. The gods of evil are always up to something, while the gods of good are strangely non-active and non-vigilant. They're apparently not asleep or distracted from the state of the world or anything, but they curiously do absolutely nothing to stop the forces of evil or alert the good races that something's up before TheEmpire has nearly conquered the world. Heck, they don't even step in to tell the elves to stop being racist pricks -- maybe even the ''gods'' CantArgueWithElves.
** One particularly painful example of this from the original trilogy: At one point, Paladine, arguably the most prominent god of good in the setting, who has in fact been quietly helping the protagonists along in disguise, shows up to sternly lecture a silver dragon for... well... basically trying to do much the same thing. Never mind that the oath she broke in the process was made by the good dragons a) under duress b) to the forces of evil who c) had just stolen all their ''eggs'' to blackmail them into staying out of the fight and d) never actually bothered to ''return'' said eggs afterwards. (Which, as we find out not too long after, was because e) [[spoiler:they were too busy using those eggs to breed new minion monsters for their own armies]]...) Thus, this probably also makes a fine example of LawfulStupid behavior on Paladine's part.

* In ''Literature/{{Everworld}},'' the Egyptian gods no longer ''do'' anything, because [[spoiler:they are so obsessed with ritual that they literally just stand around like statues as their priests pray to them]]. Because of this and the Pharaoh's mental retardation, the country has become so weak that it's easily blockaded by the dwarves and conquered by the Amazons, until [[spoiler:Sobek, the one god unaffected, comes out of exile]].
** The other gods tend to be pretty lazy too, though to varying degrees. The Greek gods, for example, are one of the most powerful pantheons, but most of them just lounge around or bicker like house cats, even when [[EldritchAbomination Ka Anor's]] army is at the foot of Mt. Olympus. It takes Athena and the protagonists quite a while to convince them that they need to ''do'' something other than "show favor" to mortal heroes. The only other two willing to fight were [[PsychopathicManchild Ares]] and [[BoisterousBruiser Heracles]], and even they wound up abandoning their army after a fight with Zeus.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Angel}}'' are notorious examples. The planet is filled with multitudes of incredibly dangerous demons (to the point where a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent superpowered demonic virus in human form]] is considered mundane), rampant evil deeds and potential apocalypses are common, hell dimensions have frequent recruiting and even their deities are known to take a stroll on Earth with impunity, yet representatives of The Side of Good are almost nowhere to be seen. The best the PowersThatBe do is send infrequent, frustratingly vague visions to a single person and even the Slayer [[spoiler:was eventually revealed as an entirely human invention that used demonic powers]]. Angel and his crew even lampshade this, outright calling the Powers That Be such names as "The Powers That Screw You" and "The Powers That Sit on Their Behinds."

* While not gods exactly, the Ancients of ''Series/StargateSG1'' and ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' are a good example, as they have AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence. Their belief in free will, coupled with their higher understanding of the universe making earth's troubles seem insignificant results in them enforcing a law of non interference, even if the fate of an entire galaxy is at stake. Notably, not all Ancients feel this way, such as Oma Desala, Merlin and Morgan Le Fay, but most of those who want to help are kept in check by the rest.

** And then there was Lorien, who basically sat for a million odd years at the bottom of a pit, twiddling his non-corporeal thumbs....

-->'''Elijah:''' ''"Pray louder!” he said. “If Baal really is a god, maybe he is thinking, or busy, or traveling! Maybe he is sleeping so you will have to wake him!”''

** The TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms has an overgod who forces the other gods to stay hands-off on the world, preventing mass destruction from constant divine meddling. Like many other works the gods TakeAThirdOption and act through their respective churches, clerics, paladins and favoured mortals. Several of them like the Church of Bane run an entire city state (Zhentil Keep) while others like the Church of Tymora sponsor adventuring teams and Mystra has her [[TheChosenMany Chosen]] to act as her agents. The presence of the gods is a fact in the Forgotten Realms setting and their churches are collectively as influential as the Catholic Church in medieval Europe.
** In TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}, gods on the Outer Planes are masters of reality in their home realms, but lose a lot of power outside of their realms or planes and even more when they step into another god's realm. Even for gods, going where you're not wanted is almost asking to get slapped around. Instead, gods employ proxies, previously-mortal servants imbued with a spark of divine power who act as their representatives. As well, the city of Sigil is barred to all gods by the mysterious Lady of Pain. This once was not the case, but then she killed the only god permitted in the city after one of her servants began to worship him.

* In ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'', two factions of {{Atlant|is}}ean mages got to AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence before their efforts broke reality: the Exarchs, who promptly started trying to enact DespotismJustifiesTheMeans on a cosmic scale, and the Oracles, who erected the Supernal Watchtowers that allow later generations to Awaken to magic. Since then, the Exarchs bend the treaty that binds cosmic-level entities as {{All Powerful Bystander}}s whenever they can, while the Oracles have vanished entirely. Whether they're playing a very subtle game InMysteriousWays or are actually inactive is unknown.

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'': While the GreaterScopeVillain creator of the Palace seems to be spreading access to his EldritchLocation to multiple individuals and filling an entire underground labyrinth with monsters, the BigGood Igor just sits in his room and fuses new {{Guardian Entit|y}}ies for you. [[spoiler:Subverted when it turns out: a) the Greater Scope Villain has been impersonating Igor, explaining his general disinterest. b) The real Igor created MrExposition Morgana to help you, and his assistant Lavenza has been appearing to you as a ButterflyOfDeathAndRebirth throughout the game.]]

*** The third game also reveals that humans are the offspring of angels and demons. Many angels, Imperius among them, would prefer humanity to cease to exist entirely because of the role of demons in their creation and the propensity many humans have toward evil, which definitely explains why the angels don't help humans. In addition, there was a pact between the forces of Heaven and hell not to interfere in Sanctuary following the Sin War, which the demons broke. Tyrael was forbidden to act directly because it would draw the Council's attention to the demons' activities there and endanger humanity.

** Goes even further during the main story in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX''. Shinnok, a former Elder God, acquires an amulet created by the Elder Gods that has the ability to destroy the fabrics of reality itself. The Elder Gods do not stop him and it takes the heroes Johnny Cage and Raiden to stop Shinnok and seal him in the amulet. Later on [[spoiler: Quan Chi manages to release Shinnok at the last minute before being killed by Scorpion. Shinnok proceeds to lay the smackdown on the heroes, go to the Sky Temple, and the infect the life force of Earthrealm with his corrupt power as he bathes in it to gain an incredible amount of power. The entire world is in danger, yet the Elder Gods still stand by and do nothing at all. Shinnok even lampshades how spineless the Elder Gods have become. Shinnok is stopped not by the Elder Gods, but by [[BadassNormal Cassie Cage]]. The inactions of the Elder Gods affect Raiden who, after using his own lifeforce to cleanse Earthrealm's corrupted lifeforce, becomes extremely disillusioned and declares to use his powers to protect Earthrealm at any cost.]]

* In ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2008'', evil god Ahriman is able to corrupt an entire kingdom despite being imprisoned for most of the game. The good god Ormazd on the other hand is never explicitly shown to do anything, although Elika does believe that Ormazd was responsible for the Prince showing up.

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' has Yukari Yakumo, who's not actually a god (she's a {{youkai}} instead), but [[RealityWarper stronger than]] [[OddJobGod most actual gods]] and is the creator of Gensokyo (the pocket dimension that the games take place in), who takes this trope to an artform. Not only does she tend to sleep for twelve hours a day, only awakening at night, but she's also known to sleep through the entirety of winter (her subordinates even say she's "hibernating"). And when she ''is'' awake she much prefers to use the local {{miko}} to do things for her while annoying/flirting with her.

* ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' has the {{Precursors}}, a godlike race purported to be "the most powerful beings in the universe," relying on poor Jak to do ''everything'', including saving their ''entire race from destruction'' [[spoiler: though this is revealed to be a RedHerring by the Precursors to protect themselves, so...]]. And it's very likely, though not outright confirmed, that Jak somehow got his powers from the Precursors, either through being TheChosenOne or [[InTheBlood having his ancestor given powers]].

* ''VideoGame/ZeusMasterOfOlympus'': Gods will only help if you build a sanctuary to them, and even then their involvement is limited to (sometimes) showing up when a rival god or army invades and fighting them. The only god who will fight against monsters is Apollo.

* [[https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/all-knowing This]] comic from ''Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'' ends with a priest asking if it's possible for God to be All-Powerful, All-Knowing, All-Good, but also lazy - to which God points out that there is an entire day designated for resting.

* In the Literature/WhateleyUniverse, one of the main characters has been to what seemed like hell, and was confronted by a being who claimed to be {{Satan}}. He tells the character while he's torturing her that God does exist, and that he and God play by these rules to keep ''things worse than Satan'' from invading our reality. He could have been lying about being Satan, or about the arrangement, or about pretty much anything... except that he ''does'' give her information that stops something [[EldritchAbomination horrific]].

* In the ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' it's revealed in ''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder'' that AllMythsAreTrue and [[JerkassGods almost all the gods are jerkasses]] who are apathetic towards mortals at best. Even when Gorr the God Butcher assaults them directly the most powerful among them chose to simply [[DirtyCoward wait it out]], arrogantly assuming he could never reach the ones hiding from him.

* In the hentai series ''Viper GTS'', God is never seen, instead relying on an orgy of {{hermaphrodite}} [[AngelicBeauty angels]] to "purify" the HornyDemons they capture. As the angels all collapse from exhaustion without having purified either of the demon girls, it appears that God in this universe is either lazy or simply a perv.

* The whole point of Deism. Basically, an almighty figure created the universe, and after that either went away or just stopped interfering in the fabric of reality.
* This became popular in European Enlightenment thinking, which wanted a way to acknowledge both God and science. Deism allows for the existence of God without the necessity of miracles or the problem of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodicy theodicy]], and means that since "God works in mysterious ways" is actually not the answer, scientists can get on with their business without fear of committing blasphemy. This religious view is often ascribed to by those who think mankind should be able to stand on its own without interference from the divine.

The trope-name comes from the film ''Film/TheGodsMustBeCrazy''. If this trope is averted (i.e. the Gods take a very active role in fighting evil), see {{Heaven}}, {{Hell}}, and GodIsGood. The villainous version of this is OrcusOnHisThrone.

* While acting as the Avatar of God's Vengeance, ComicBook/TheSpectre can do [[KillEmAll damn near anything]]. However, he's been noticeably sparing about using his gifts against people like, say, [[JokerImmunity popular supervillains]]. Apparently, there are rules. Somewhere.

** The events of ''X'' lead right into ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'', where Kronika, who is displeased with Raiden's continued intermeddling with her intended course of history, decides to take matters into her own hands and pull fighters from between multiple timelines. You know that Kronika poses a serious threat to the realms when the Elder Gods ''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness provide Raiden with precise instructions on what he needs to do to thwart her ambitions]]. [[spoiler: Unfortunately they pay the ultimate price for their inactions over the eons when Cetrion kills them all to prove her loyalty to Kronika and finish what her brother Shinnok started.]]''

* In the ''Literature/StarTrekMillennium'' trilogy, the pah-wraiths are far more proactive than the Prophets. This is actually justified - the Prophets' best bet for protecting the universe is to keep their distance and remain apart from the mortal/temporal realm, while the pah-wraiths want to bridge the distance and reunite the two celestial temples, even though it means destroying creation.

* ''Toys/{{BIONICLE}}'': For all the series hypes him up to be the ultimate BigGood and GodOfGood, Mata Nui has willingly admitted that he was pretty apathetic towards the beings of the Matoran Universe,[[note]]Just look at the Toa Empire universe, where Toa Tuyet set up TheEmpire and commited multiple genocides without any intervention from Mata Nui[[/note]] hence the reason Makuta Teridax was able to pull off his plan right under Mata Nui's nose. Afterwards, his guilt over the Makuta's crimes leads him to becoming TheAtoner [[spoiler: and then willing becoming a SealedGoodInACan after he realizes his people no longer need him to lead them]].

*** Their first wars with Morgoth did so much damage (shattering continents, lifting up mountain ranges) that they could not release their full powers against him without causing an EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, which would have been rather counterproductive. They had to wait till he squandered his powers sufficiently that he could be defeated with less extreme means. (Even so, that battle - the War of Wrath - * still* sank Beleriand, an enormous area of land larger than all the countries in Lord of the Rings put together).

* ''LightNovel/TheSlayers'': There's the Shinzoku (the gods) and the Mazoku (the demons); the Mazoku often [[AlwaysChaoticEvil cause destruction at the most convenient time they can,]] while the Shinzoku often do absolutely nothing about it unless the balance between good and evil is severely tipped. One manga reveals the Shinzoku's discerning nature; this is never truly addressed in the anime or novels.

** Beings like [[GalacticConqueror Freeza]] from ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' (who had conquered/destroyed hundreds of planets) are apparently beneath the notice of the gods, but if there's a threat to multiple galaxies, or the universe (such as Buu), they'll take direct action. In ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', Gowasu, U10's Supreme Kai, states that the Kais are not allowed to interfere with mortal affairs. Their job is to create life, watch over the mortals, and give them guidance. The only gods who are allowed to interact in the mortal realm are the Gods of Destruction. The situation with Buu was presumably an exception since he attacked the Kais first. His apprentice [[DarkMessiah Zamasu]], who [[HumansAreFlawed who looks down on the mortal races with disdain for never seeming to learn their lessons]], disagrees and believes this non-intervention policy actually hurts the multiverse. [[spoiler:Eventually, Zamasu decides to stop being lazy and goes about doing what he feels is necessary for protecting the universe... by killing all the mortals and all the gods who get in his way]].
** Speaking of Gods of Destruction, Beerus has not been doing his job very well. Part of his duty as a God of Destruction is to wipe out [[PayEvilUntoEvil evil mortals who misuse the knowledge of the gods]], but he spends most of his time eating and sleeping, as shown in ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods''. He should have killed Majin Buu before he wiped out most of the Supreme Kais and left his universe with only the IncompletelyTrained Shin (who has been called Supreme Kai throughout ''Z''), but he slept through the whole thing. Also, not only did he let Frieza run rampant throughout the cosmos, he actually encouraged Frieza's actions by approving of his genocide of the Saiyans. When Gods of Destruction from other universes are introduced, it's revealed that several of them are far more efficient than he.
** The Universe Survival Saga takes this trope to its logical conclusion: Zen'o, the [[TopGod Omni-King]] who rules over the multiverse, decides that he's tired of keeping track of 12 separate universes and wants to clean house. The universes are rated by "mortal level", a measure of how developed its mortal inhabitants are, which is also a reflection on each universe's Gods and how well they've been doing their jobs. The top four are safe, while the bottom eight have to participate in a tournament. Each universe with assemble a team of ten warriors, who will take part in a battle royale. Only the last team standing gets their universe spared. Universe 7, the setting of the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise, has the second-lowest mortal level because its God of Destruction Beerus is the very definition of this trope, while there's only been one Kaioshin for the last five million years or so[[note]]technically two once the Old Kai (the Eastern Kaioshin from 15 generations ago) is freed from the Z Sword, but it's unclear if he plays an active role in the CelestialBureaucracy since the current Kaioshin fills his former position[[/note]], meaning the universe has mostly been left to its own devices and at the mercy of people like Freeza and Buu.

* John Milton's ''Literature/ParadiseLost'' was written to explain why this isn't the case in the Bible, stating that he will "justify the ways of God to men." In the story, God explains that all of his creations are "fit to stand but free to fall," and that therefore they have only their own free will to blame if they should sin. Satan throws himself out of heaven after warring with heaven, and Adam and Eve have only themselves to blame for being corrupted by Satan's temptation.
* Subverted in the ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium''. For most of the story, the Valar - depicted as essentially good and well-meaning - barely do anything as the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth fight the Dark Lords. That is actually justified since even their helpful, beneficent interventions tend to destroy continents.

** ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'': Their first wars with Morgoth did so much damage (shattering continents, lifting up mountain ranges) that they could not release their full powers against him without causing an EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, which would have been rather counterproductive. They had to wait till he squandered his powers sufficiently that he could be defeated with less extreme means. (Even so, that battle - the War of Wrath - * still* sank Beleriand, an enormous area of land larger than all the countries in Lord of the Rings put together).

** ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''; This time around, the Valar pitch in just enough help to bring down Sauron, most notably sending five wizards (Gandalf being one of them) to Middle-Earth.

* The very premise of ''Manga/HeavensDesignTeam'' enforces this. God is too lazy to design the animals to inhabit the earth he's already created, so he uses the titular Agency to do the work for him.