A Principle for Decision-Making
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
http://www.forthright.net
Going straight to the Cross
When you have to make a difficult decision,
there's help.
A Principle for Decision-Making
by Joseph Pauley, Belle WV
Discussion revolving around the interpretation and
application of the Holy Scriptures has been
interesting through the years. I've often heard
remarks that sound wise but fall very short of
what God had in mind. "All we need are the direct
commands of Scripture." These remarks seem to
limit God's ability to communicate with His
people, as if He can only communicate in direct
commandments. This couldn't be further from the
truth.
There are so many worthwhile principles found in
Scripture that aren't phrased in the form of a
command. Sometimes these principles are far more
reaching in their application than what is being
dealt with in the specific context in which the
principle is found. A good example of this is
found in 1 Corinthians 10:23: "'All things are
lawful,' but not all things are helpful. 'All
things are lawful,' but not all things build up."
Some are bent on declaring, "All things are
lawful." Paul doesn't necessarily concur with this
brash statement. He points out some flaws with
this type of thinking. Not everything is
beneficial or edifying. There are some things that
aren't worth doing simply because they are of no
real benefit in assisting in spiritual maturity.
They may not be wrong in and of themselves, but
they are a waste of time.
Christians are about "redeeming the time."
Christians are active in faith-development, not
simply passive in trying to refrain from evil.
Christians are on a journey toward heaven, not
simply waiting at the heavenly bus stop.
Individual Christians as well as church leaders
struggle with decisions that may seem morally
neutral or in the realm of Christian liberty. How
are these difficult decisions made? They are made
from a central focus in life, that is, growing
toward maturity in Christ. Sometimes the best
question we can ask is: Will this really help me
(or us) to move on to spiritual maturity? Some
things may, in fact, be "lawful," but are still a
waste of time.
Thank God for giving us commands, examples,
necessary inferences, and guiding principles to
live by.