iThink...thereFore, iAm

We all know the fabled “grey areas” - places or circumstances in our life where things aren’t really concretely defined and it can go either way. Areas that for one person may be poison but for another is totally permissible, where we can argue and reason to no end what is actually right and what is actually wrong because these aspects lie between the rules and definitions that we know. What scares me is that these “areas” in life are very very real.

What scares me even more, to bits in fact, is that we have become very good at rationalising about them and using them to our own purposes, twisting them to our own desires.

Secretly (or perhaps not so much anymore), this is probably one thing I would have appreciated living in the Old Testament days. You’d be too busy tending the sheep or fighting wars to worry about whether having internet in your teenage son’s own room is evil would be permissible as a rule or whether mercy-killing should be allowed; there would have been enough killing going around that most people would just want it to stop. (cue laugh track)

But over the years, we have amassed knowledge and materials, and we have learned the fine art of rationalisation and convincing others on our own stand.  With no offence to all salesmen, it’s honestly a very good sales technique (although I’ve seen better sales records on people who are really interested in helping their clients and are honest to a fault). Debaters, such as myself *ahem*, are often hailed as eloquent speakers when all most of us know how to do is distract and then convince you of something with the age-old methods of divide and conquer (mentally) or presenting only what we want you to hear (e.g. only giving you the options we want you to consider, which is not the entire picture) so that we can sway you to our stand.

[For the record, I do a fair bit of debating and discourse and discussion in my work, as well as (unfortunately) aggressive marketing, so I do understand for those in those professions that it is quite a struggle, and that not all in that line of work behave unscrupulously. An unfair illustration, but perhaps the only one I know from my own experience, and so I ask your pardon.]

With this skill, we have learned to tell God what is really sin and what isn’t. Interesting that our moral orientation is not on God, but on what we think, and therefore we seem to be able to tell God on His own rules! We have convinced ourselves that certain things are evil, certain people are evil, simply by what we know. We have learned, and often thankfully so, how to think for ourselves, and the unfortunate effect of that is that we come to wrong conclusions at times and follow them, and I am sadly aware that I do that as well.

It’s worth pointing out that firstly to define the “grey areas” as such, we must first know what is “black” and what is “white”.  It’s rather ironic that in the amassing of knowledge we have tried to draw clear lines and in the very discovery of those lines we have found out that there are some areas in which multiple lines must be drawn or no clear position exists for a particular line - leaving a middle ground which is subjective and subject to our own thought and reason.

Therein lies the problem. Thinking and rationalisation. And given my reputation among those who know me I can feel the snigger across my pals because I am one of those who cannot stop thinking and cannot mentally rest. It has served me well in life, in ministry, in work, and yet I am presenting the very thing that I weld so easily as a weapon in my everyday life as something that could well lead us astray as it once has for me. And so I ask that as you read, take my words seriously but weigh them for yourself as well.

The first drawback to this skill we have developed is that we rely very heavily on our own observations and knowledge. Yet in doing so we forget the basic rules in all economics - that we all have imperfect information. We see a limited amount, and often only what is portrayed to us - which by now we would have learned that it is very easy to portray only what the party wishes to. Yet for arguments’ sake let’s assume that we see everything that is being done - we’re still not seeing a lot, because we miss the thoughts, the feelings, the heart. The cold, calculated manner that we have learned to do and deal things with has worked against us. I’ve been told I’m a very sharp observer and an excellent troubleshooter, and yet there are times where I’ve gotten myself into more of a funk that I’d want to be in, simply because I’ve had bits and pieces of information not in place. And the best part was that I didn’t even know they weren’t in place - I actually thought, truth be told, that I had all the information that was necessary, and it turned out to be otherwise.

But alas, imperfect humans amass imperfect information, and lead to less than ideal conclusions - which are often outright wrong. Instances like this occur daily, when our speculations and suspicions are proven otherwise.

The second drawback is a very self-seeking one and briefly brought up as a thought earlier - we have defined for ourselves where our morals lie. Ravi Zacharias paints a very appropriate picture for us in The Grand Weaver, in which he suggests that when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, it gave them the ability to redefine on their own terms what was right and wrong. Prior to that it would seem that Man already had every other ability - to be creative, to name, to build, to produce, to nurture and to grow (and of course their respective complementary and often negatively associated counterparts), but not the ability to redefine what was good and what was evil. Even if we don’t agree that the fruit itself was what caused the ability, we still have to admit this is the first time Man had decided for himself what was good for him (or her) and taken action upon it. They had decided, on their own, what was good. Prior to that, they had simply obeyed willingly but (I’m inclined to think) not blindly - now they had redefined on their own terms what they felt was good and what wasn’t, and ever since then we have been able to sway our own thoughts to convince and determine for ourselves what is good and what is not.

The fact of the matter is that our moral inclination shouldn’t rest only in our own thoughts. I say “only” because I do believe God intended for us to think, and for us to reason for ourselves why certain things are not good for us, in His commandments and love. But the moral compass rests solely on God’s character, and is defined by who He is (and should have stayed rested there)! If the chief end of our being is to worship God, then anything, no matter how good the act or object is in itself, if it points you in a direction other than to God, it is not pleasing at all in His eyes! We all know this, given how freely we talk about even church and ministry being possible distractions from God - what bothers me is that we are quick to use those as examples of distractions from God, but not many other activities such as sports or television watching!

You may ask, “but this doesn’t help dealing with the grey areas where there are really no moral guidelines as such!” True, if we aren’t able to reason it out before we started on this thought process, it’s likely that we still won’t be able to at the end of this. Even if we’re seeking to grow closer to God and closer to His heart that takes times, and as much as I would hope a simple reading of my writing can help with that to the extent that one would immediately be in direct communion with the Lord of lords, I’m afraid that’s likely not to be the case. Such closeness is cultivated over a much longer period of time, with much intentionality. So here I defy the argument that it is about “right or wrong” because sometimes things are more than just a moral issue.

But wait, we do that all the time - that’s why we have grey areas, isn’t it? Such things are neither right nor wrong - and to that I will place another argument to fill the void: is it wise or unwise?

My parents have been married for over 25 years and it warms my heart when I see either of them doing something they wouldn’t normally do, yet has been cultivated out of instinct because they know what the other party so desires. When I speak of a Christian, I speak of one who earnestly seeks to know his or her God from the heart. To know His heart, to know Him so well as one would a spouse of many years that we follow not His commands but His will. (I’m always inspired by the story of Brother Lawrence in that aspect.) And thus I try to ask less of the question “is this right or wrong?” and more of the question “if I truly want to grow close to my God and love Him and follow His heart, then would this be wise or unwise? Would He smile at this, or cast a cautious look in my direction to watch out for me in case I fall? Would He appreciate me in the situation or out of the situation?”

Recently I was informed of a debate that went on among fellow young adults - they were arguing whether gambling was wrong. One side said that it was not wrong per se, that one could gamble for leisure and not fall into sin and therefore it is permissible and possibly right as a form of recreation. The other side mentioned that it was not a good use of resources, not good stewardship of money and time, and it was wrong. I have to say I agreed with both schools of thought - given a strong enough conviction and strong enough faith, I could well enter a casino, take part in the activities, and not sin and not be tempted and still be enjoy the intellectuality and adventure of gambling from my excess resources, as others also use their excess resources for leisure. Yet I recognise that gambling can possibly lead to a slippery slope in addiction that will draw me away from God and harm my loved ones as innocent bystanders. Both sides are logical, so to speak!

Yet, logic doesn’t always paint the full picture (oh how Picasso would have loved to hear that in his lifetime!) - if i truly loved my God, would I want to put myself in a situation where I could easily be tempted and fall away in my faith to an addictive sin? The question then is not whether I can engage in such activities and not fall off the edge of the proverbial cliff, into sin, but rather whether I choose to stay away from the edge of the cliff altogether!  When we are faced with such warnings that there are potential dangers to our physical self, we often heed them, staying far away from dangerous ledges, using safety equipment in our sports, but we have often failed to do the same with our hearts and constantly put it (and therefore ourselves) in peril.

Living the Christian life, as a true lover of God, is not how close we can get to the edge without falling off, as most of us are wont to do, but how far we choose to stay away from the edge so that we can rest safe in our Father’s arms! If we know we are going to be tempted, we can remove that potential for temptation and flee - and in fact that is precisely what is commanded in the case of sexual immorality! Flee, for you do not want to put yourself in a position of any form of temptation! I would even go so far as to say that if you truly loved your God, you would protect your heart and soul as you would when you put on your safety belt. You may not have had a proper use for the safety belt just yet, but all it takes is one time, when it is needed and it wasn’t in place, for disaster to happen - similarly with sin, you may not fall into the temptation every time it occurs, but all it takes is one time. Bankruptcy, AIDS, drug addictions, gambling and pornography addictions, illicit affairs - these all started with one time, the first time. Some of these consequences of sins only needed one time at all. If we knew it only took one time to lead to such calamity, then why would we not take care to avoid such temptations? Why do we not take precautions and put on our safety belts?

I mentioned earlier that in order to know the “grey” we must first know “black” and “white”. It is even more so important to know such after we have realised that wisdom is in staying far away from such temptation without giving it a chance!  Take the above case again as an example - say if I had fully accepted that we are in the end days and the end of the world is nearing as Jesus comes again (hey we’re definitely getting closer everyday, whenever it is), wouldn’t I be a little more prudent with my time? Why would I seem to squander it intentionally on something of little meaning, much less something that may prove a temptation, or maybe even stumble the faith of another! It is important to know, not just for the sake of knowledge or legalism (lest we become another set of Pharisees) but to act on the knowledge in wisdom, noting that the two are very very different.

Thought, reason and rationalisation are great gifts, no doubt, that have been bestowed upon us. C.S. Lewis once said “I believe that the great God who gave us brains did not intend for us to forego their use”. Yet such things are a double-edged sword; when used properly they heal and encourage, when used flippantly and to selfish ends they maim, kill and destroy.  A single sword when welded by a hero saves lives, but in the hands of the villain kills many.  A sword is not meant to be sheathed at all times, otherwise it defeats the purpose it was created for. But with the possession of knowledge as a sword, there must come a reason to use it, a training in its use, and a discipline to use it when necessary. This reason, training and discipline is found in wisdom and wisdom is found in listening to and keeping close with God.

Knowledge can tell us what is right or wrong or even in between, but wisdom is what keeps us walking with God and staying far away from the slippery slopes. Knowledge without wisdom is legalism and draws us to the action instead of to God.

Knowledge alone is cold steel, and must be tempered with wisdom, in order to form a blade worthy of a Warrior of God against the forces of this world. And all of us, myself included, might want to learn how to weld both.