This excerpt from a recent comment left by a reader on an earlier post (How Far Does Human Wisdom Go) gives opportunity to expound on some things regarding God’s wisdom versus man’s wisdom.
Interestingly enough, her apparent anger comes as a surprise to me, considering that the post she commented on was very “questioning” in nature, basically raising questions for us to consider, and not so much of “this is the way it is”. Perhaps it was some of the other comments that made her angry? Nevertheless, I felt it prudent to address a couple of her comments.
She writes:
“The real trick isnt merely studing scripture til your blue in the face about how God thinks children are blessings. it is gaining PERSONAL INTIMACY wioth God on what is right and congruent to his will for your life….and if people here beleived in that, they wouldnt have black and white conspiracies on the ‘right way to go’, and worse..kepp speaking about it.” …. idealogy isnt in Gods vocabulary anymore, since we sinned. it wont be as perfect as it could have been. Living in reality, and coming to this conclusion was harder for me than subscribing to this rule and that rule and turning practically the entire bible into black-and-white issues. thats the EASY way out. you never have to grow in wisdom….think for yourself, or out of the box. Instead, you remain stunted. Realize that just becasue you all embrace these truths doesnt give you the right to use it to shame others. Ive heard the argument time and time before that it is simply becasue you have to speak the truth that you say these ‘truths’. Well realize the implication and damage you can do, and it being intentional and deliberate just may have you placing yourselves in judgment. God also is for FREEDOM….we do not have the right, in clear conscience, to harm another brother or sister in God, though we may hurt them by telling them the truth. it takes wisdom to know what that difference is. i think the line is crossed here.” [sic]
I’ve spoken before on my reservations about crossing the line of “personal intimacy with God” as a sole means of determining God’s will. Certainly, personal intimacy with God is to be coveted; but to use it as the “all powerful measuring stick” of what God’s will is can lead us down a dangerous path of spiritual relativism….that is, when humanism (there are no absolutes–what’s good for me may not be good for you) wears a religious cloak and we lose any shred of standards and absolutes. God’s Word has been given to us for a reason; to reveal His will. Any issue we can think of is addressed, directly or indirectly, through His revealed Word. He has not left us to flounder around, using only our “personal feelings” as a guide to His will.
Let me be clear…many issues do not have absolutes from Scripture. However, many do. And some absolutes can be made based on principles from Scripture. Such as, abortion…it is not addressed verbatim, but from the principles of Scripture, we can discern that it is wrong.
I’m am not advocating that birth control, which is the topic being discussed here, is an absolute, in every case, from Scripture. I do feel strongly, though, that we can’t just dismiss the desire to discern God’s will about it based on a flippant “the Bible doesn’t address it, so I’m FREE.”
Again, I offer for this reader, and any others struggling through this topic, to consider man’s wisdom in this light:
Wisdom is required where action is required. I must seek wisdom and exercise it in mattes of decision-making. Buying a house, taking a job, going into the mission field, adopting a child, etc. These all require that I DO something, and therefore I pray and seek wisdom about what God’s will is. Do I choose A or B?
The issue of having children is not such. I don’t have to DO anything to have a child. The process is a supernatural one, put in motion by God, from the beginning of time. My body operates just as it should. My reproductive organs are not a sickness from the curse, for which I must take medication.
The Bible makes no provision for preventing children–none. (Unless you pray A LOT.) Contrary to that, it makes every provision for having them.
If we are discussing man’s wisdom, tell me, what is WISE about medically altering the normal function of your body? I’ve brought this up before. Bible aside; the miracle of life aside; can human wisdom justify the act of breaking what works normally?
(Paragraph revised…)
If you want to say to me, “We didn’t want anymore children so I got fixed.” Fine. But, barring some specific reasons you felt led to that (medical, etc.), to disguise it under “man’s wisdom”…I’m just not sure.
The other tricky part here is, in using wisdom to make a decision such as which house to buy, the implications of the decision affect our lives only. But to make a decision to prevent a life, is, well, preventing a life! Our wisdom can’t reach far enough out to know those implications.
Once again…I don’t talk about this because I want to “shame” people or condemn them for decisions they have made. I have many, many friends who have stopped having children, and my intent is not to go around pointing fingers. I’m addressing a “tide” in the church. A trend that has slowly turned our hearts away from loving children the way God loves them. Away from building His kingdom the way he put in motion to build it. I’m begging you to be careful…to think…to exercise a “fear of the Lord” in all things. I love you!
God created a masterpiece when he formed His favorite part of creation–you and me. Imagine Da Vinci, unveiling his Mona Lisa for the first time, and I, a peon of an art connoisseur, tilt my head and say, “almost right…but her smile is…” and then I walk up with an eraser and proceed to “fix” it….
Thoughts to ponder 🙂
Read original post HERE