You should probably be worried that some of my deepest theological thoughts have been prompted by either my children’s toys or by their music. When our kids were growing up, I listened (quite against my will, mind you) to their music; they particularly loved when we played their “kid’s music” in the car while on longer trips. Thus, Elmo became my driving buddy.
From their VBS music track one year, one song spoke of obeying God and avoiding Satan because, “everything he says is a lie.” Good practice (after all, I do want my kids to obey God and avoid Satan), but not necessarily good theology.
Unfortunately, much of the difficulty of maturing as a disciple of Christ is recognizing that not all that Satan says is a lie. After all, he masquerades as an angel of light. The temptations which hinder our growth, and which so frequently interfere with our pleasing God, often are a mixture of truth and falsehood or a distortion of the truth. Taking joy in created things becomes idolatry and greed; frustration at the sin of others becomes self-righteousness; love becomes lust and coveting; the desire to do things well becomes the pursuit of self-aggrandizement and selfish pride.
God has a moral law/moral code for us to follow that is right, but much of life is figuring out what is wise, pleasing in His sight and following His direction and will. Very infrequently are we confronted by the stark choice between right and wrong. Early in our Christian lives we become aware of what is wrong and develop a natural aversion to it. Unfortunately, we rarely are forced to make choices between what is godly and what is wicked. That choice is easy for most Christians to recognize and to act upon accordingly.
No, usually we are faced with choices between what is morally right and what is wise or Christian. Gray dominates. While many choices may be morally “right,” the Christian’s responsibility is to determine what is best, true, wise and what pleases God. While there may be nothing morally wrong with going out to dinner, or visiting one friend over another, or choosing to write a letter or not, or watching a certain TV episode, choosing to do so may not be the wise and Christian choice.
I’m glad that my children are learning to do what is right and to shun evil. But the task of leading them to Christian maturity goes far beyond “right and wrong.” Ultimately, they must be trained to look for, embrace and pursue what is Christian—and that is a far bigger task than training one simply to be “good.”
We are in the midst of a time of discernment, seeking God’s leading on if Hebron Church should remain in the PCUSA or seek realignment with another like-minded denomination. In some ways this is indeed a “right/wrong” question: but in others we are seeking what is best, what is the wise and good decision here. As always, we are dependent upon the Lord and His leading for us—I ask you to seek that wisdom from our Savior, for to Him be the glory!
Henry