The Answer To Black & White: Discernment

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+1:9&version=NASB

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5:20&version=NASB

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Col%203:12-14&version=NIV1984

In yesterday’s post I wrote about people who are black-and-white in their approach to life.  These kind of people can be very judgmental.  And self-righteous.  Unfortunately the church has helped breed these kind of people.  Unwittingly.

As the church preaches and teaches God’s Word, black-and-white people truly want to serve God.  Like the Apostle Paul before his conversion, they are very zealous.  They want to obey all of His laws.  Which is good.  Very good.  Unfortunately, God’s commands becomes their sole focus.  In the process, they lose sight of people.  They are so concerned with the proper application of God’s commands that they forget the reason for the command.  They unknowingly become like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day who were more concerned over keeping the Sabbath holy than they were seeing someone healed on that day - by God!  It was to the Pharisees that Jesus said the following in Mark 2:27, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”  In other words, God’s laws always need to be kept in proper perspective.  While He did not want people to work on the Sabbath, He certainly was OK with someone being healed on the Sabbath.  In fact, what better day to be healed than on the Sabbath, the Lord’s Day?

And so it is that black-and-white people have trouble separating the sin from the sinner.  In their simple way of thinking, bad people do bad things.  So when a Christian sins and does something bad, they must be a bad person.  Certainly they are back-slidden.  Why they might not even be a Christian!  You never know!  As a result, black-and-white people have a difficult time showing things such as grace, mercy, forgiveness, and compassion to others.  In a black-and-white world, the offender doesn’t deserve these things.  They deserve judgment!

What it all boils down to, in my opinion, is a lack of spiritual maturity.  Black-and-white people are uncomfortable with gray areas.  They don’t know how to handle them.  They feel totally unequipped on how to deal with people and/or situations that don’t have a specific verse that can be cited.  So they retreat to their rules.  To their categories.  It’s safe there.  Neat.  Organized.  But it’s also unhealthy.  Dare I say unbiblical?

When a person becomes a Christian, they receive the Holy Spirit.  The Counselor.  The Guide.  One of the ministries of the Spirit to each believer is to give them discernment.  This means that He gives them the wisdom to adequately size up a situation.  And to know how to respond to it in a Christ-like manner.  This is the path to spiritual maturity.

As a pastor, I frequently come across situations that aren’t covered specifically in the Bible.  The reason why is that the Bible was never intended to be an answer book.  This is a source of alarm to black-and-white people.  They assume that God addresses every situation in life in the Bible.  Specifically.  Chapter and verse.  Instead of being an ‘answer book’, however, the Bible was given to us as a guide.  Thus the Bible is full of principles.  These principles cover every situation.  And they are there for us to use.  Aided by the Holy Spirit.

So, what can we do if we find that others around us are basically black-and-white?  First of all, we can pray for them.  Pray that they would be given courage.  Courage to step out of their nice, neat, black-and-white world and allow the Holy Spirit to guide them.  Toward this end, pray that the Holy Spirit would give them discernment.  A basic understanding of the situation and what God would have them to do.  Secondly, provide them with some good, Biblical principles.  These will serve as the foundation for future decisions.  Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, show them grace.  Remember that grace is a foreign concept to them.  If you treat a black-and-white person in-kind you are only reinforcing their behavior.  However, by giving them grace you can slowly break down their resistance to it.  They see it in action.  They begin to understand its power.  And how it can be used to help others.

Yes, life can get very messy at times.  And complicated.  There are no easy or ‘pat’ answers to many situations.  But this shouldn’t overwhelm us.  Or deter us.  As Christians, we know that God has a solution for every situation.  It may be a complex solution.  And it may take some time to implement.  But how rewarding it is to tackle a difficult situation, with Scripture and the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and to see it work out.  For the glory of God!

Lord, I thank you that in the midst of difficult situations, You always have an answer for me.  I pray that You would open my eyes to see what it is.  Show me the principles from Your Word that apply to it.  And give me the courage and strength to implement it.  Help me to become spiritually mature.  To have the mind of Christ in every situation.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.