Every
day there are chances to be happy, sad or upset about things that are happening
in the world. All the latest news and
views are available to us 24/7 via news websites and Twitter Feeds. I try to look at both Christian and
non-Christian information sources in order to get a broader picture of issues
that interest or concern me. After all
my reading and listening I may develop an educated understanding of events, but
I still feel a bit bereft, somehow, as if I’ve edged my way up, down and around
the truth, but missed some important aspect of it.
Of
course, I try to figure out if the Bible has something the say about issues. Quite often, it doesn’t say explicitly, “This is the truth about such-and-such” and
that can be disconcerting. It seems that
God’s viewpoint about things like science, politics and even church practices
is not laid out for us quite as clearly as we’d like it to be. This can lead to relational tensions, both
inside and outside the Church. Certain
subjects in particular seem to polarize Christians, all of whom think that
their widely differing opinions most accurately reflect what the Bible
teaches.
Jesus
famously said, “My sheep hear my voice.”
If the sheep seem to be hearing considerably different things, then
something has gone amiss in the communication process and I dare say the
problem lies with us rather than Jesus.
The noise
At
times I do remember – almost as an afterthought - to ask the Lord for his point
of view. That is when I discover that,
although my self-education about the issues may be helpful in forming an
opinion, all the ideas milling around in my mind tend to drown out the still,
small voice of God. It amazes me to
recognize how fiercely I cling to my considered opinions once they’ve settled
in and made themselves at home in my head.
I tend to construct walls around them in order to protect my hard won
intellectual territory. I may even post “sentries” at strategic spots on these
walls and let them pepper enemy arguments with vaguely relevant Bible verses or
not-so-subtle labelling (e.g. bleeding
heart liberal, stick-in-the-mud conservative). Under such circumstances, if
God wants to nudge my mind-set in a slightly different direction, I doubt I’ll
hear or understand what he’s trying to say to me.
The big picture
And
yet – I do want to know what God thinks!
Human wisdom is fine as far as it goes, but there is no replacement for
hearing what the Creator of the universe has to say about how things ought to
be working. God knows what is right and
what needs to happen in each and every circumstance and he wants us to ask for
his opinion.
“For my
thoughts are nothing like your thoughts”, says the Lord.
“And my ways are beyond anything you could imagine.” (Isaiah 55:8)
~~~
“And my ways are beyond anything you could imagine.” (Isaiah 55:8)
~~~
If you need
wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.
He will not rebuke you for asking. (James 1:5)
He will not rebuke you for asking. (James 1:5)
Having
said that, I don’t know if God intends to hammer out definitive positions on
every possible cultural, political or religious issue. Sometimes the Bible writers were painting the
bigger picture and we need to discern how to apply those general principles to
individual situations. Given that Jesus
approached people and their problems in a number of creative ways during his
ministry on earth, I doubt he would want his present-day followers to resort to
cookie cutter solutions. He is able to
see beneath the surface and gauge the motivations of peoples’ hearts. His view is wide and takes in every aspect of
the matter. He sees connections that we
can’t, remembers exactly what happened in the past and knows what is in store
for the future. I believe that he can
give us an understanding that we can’t develop using our own resources.
So,
how does an earnest seeker of God’s opinion learn how to discern his voice from
amongst all the others clamouring for attention? I’ve been trying to get better
at this and have learned a couple of things along the way.
Which comes first?
This
may seem obvious, but it is quite helpful to ask God for his thoughts about an
issue before seeking out the opinions
of others, even if those others are trusted Christian teachers or theologians. I’m not saying that we can’t benefit from the
wisdom and learning of other Christians, but if we want to hear God’s opinion
about something, it’s best to go straight to the source. Jesus made it clear: if we belong to him, we
can hear him speaking. The Holy Spirit is in our hearts and Jesus described the Spirit as a counselor who comforts, advises and shares God’s wisdom with
us. We can check out secondary sources
afterward, but nothing beats listening to God first.
What to expect
One
more thing: expect surprises! When he walked the earth, Jesus did not
follow anyone’s party line. He went straight
to the Father for wisdom and sometimes his approach to people and
their problems was unusual. The things
he said and did surprised even those closest to him. As God has made clear, his thoughts and ways
are very different from ours. If we are
to hear what he wants to communicate, we must be willing to allow our minds and
hearts to stretch and grow in unexpected ways. I’ll close with a little story
from my own life that illustrates this.
Not
all that long ago, we had a provincial election in Alberta. I’ll admit that I haven’t been all that
interested in politics since we moved here, as there is one party that wins
most of the seats in landslide proportions every election and our city is a
safe bet to gain them a seat or two. However, this last time, there was a
serious contender for the premiership who swept in under the auspices of a new political
party. This added quite some interest to
election debates and, since the present reigning elite was starting to get on
my nerves with some of its policies, my interest was piqued. As is the norm nowadays, the campaign heated
up and mud was slung every which way.
Each time I read the paper or listened to outrageously edited sound
bytes on television news shows, I felt upset because neither of the top two candidates
nor their parties seemed to share my values.
In the back of my mind I remembered to pray, “Lord, give me discernment.”
One
day I happened to see an article in the newspaper about an issue dear to my
heart, so I paid attention. The reporter quoted a politician, one I knew very
little about. He had been ousted from
his former political party (the reigning incumbents) for criticizing the
party’s track record in my area of interest. He had then proceeded to run for
and gain the leadership of a different party.
Soon after reading that news item, I was channel surfing and happened to
catch sight of this politician on a current events program, so I listened to
what he was saying. His party was so far
behind the other front-runners, there was no chance he would be elected as
premier, but I sensed that God was drawing my attention to him because of his
character, not his chances of winning the election. There was something about his general
demeanor and the way he spoke that drew me to him.
Looking
back, I don’t think God was trying to nudge a particular party or leader into
power through my vote. I asked him for
discernment and he showed me how one politician shared some of my values. Although I wasn’t consciously aware of it at
the time, it was important to me to vote for the person more so than the
politics and God knew that. That’s what I mean about surprises.
Dietrich
Bonheoffer once said, “All things appear
as in a distorted mirror if they are not seen and recognized in God." Perhaps he was referring to what the Apostle
Paul said – that we see things imperfectly and our knowledge is partial and
incomplete (1 Corinthians 13:12). God is
the one who searches people’s hearts and knows what is necessary and important
in every possible situation. He is
willing to share if we are willing to listen.
Roadway -http://www.flickr.com/photos/raindog/1653231144/
No comments:
Post a Comment