A terrifying thought has recently occurred to me. The kind of thought that makes one wonder if the ground they are standing upon is really there or if they are who they believe themselves to be. Recently, Marta and I have been pondering examples in our life of individuals or groups claiming that they are following the will of God. The scary thing is that once someone or a group of people claim that what they are doing is the will of God, they are guaranteed an air tight, waterproof theological barrier around their actions.
For example. Let us say that there is a plot of swamp land down the street selling for really cheap and I am looking to build a house. I spend some time in prayer and ask God if I should buy the land or not (I really want to, it is such a good deal). And then, I discern that God says yes. First of all, no one has any real good reason to deny my claims because there is nothing in his "general will" or revelation against buying swampland. One could maybe bring up that it is not very wise to buy swampland and will be very difficult to build a house but then I would counter that I am the wise one here for getting such a great deal. (I would also say that it worked for Walt Disney :) )
Now let's say that I go to build my house and it turns out that I need to haul in extra rock and soil to lay a solid foundation in the swamp or the house will sink. This puts me back an extra $40,000 but in the grand scheme of things, I am still coming out on top. This is what we would call a "test of faith" or a "trial/tribulation" which could come from God or from Satan trying to throw me off of this amazing blessing God has for us. Then another snag. I find I need to buy a special sewer system for the house that will put me over the amount I would have spent on a house on a normal piece of land. I start to have doubts at this point whether this was a good idea, but they are fleeting and I am at this point, too commited to turn back, besides I have already told my church and all my friends that this is the will of God and my entire reputation would be ruined if I said that I was wrong.
So I keep going. I start to build my house, but it turns out that the foundation I laid wasn't good enough and part of it sinks leaving me with a pretty crooked frame. So I have to pay more money to place more rocks into the foundation and fix the frame again. Clearly, a test of my faith. I have to take out a second mortgage on the house and get another job to pay for it. A friend of mine asks me if I still think it was God's will for me to build this house. First I tell him that I will pray for his lack of faith and secondly, that following God's will is worth more than any amount of money. God judges success not by human standards but by his own standards right?
Now, this story could end in a couple of different ways. 1.) I end up completing the house and have a pretty nice house that cost me twice as much as any other comparable house on the market. I also have the satisfaction of following God's will to completion.
2.) I go into bankruptcy and lose the home. I either blame those brief moments of doubting I had earlier or say that this was merely a test that God had put me through to make sure that I would follow him 100%.
What concerns me here is that there is often not a possibility for someone to admit they are wrong about discerning God's will. Once it has been announced or decided that this is God's will, it seems like it pretty much has to be carried out to completion regardless of the outcome. There is not a lot of grace in our culture for someone who admits that they were wrong, both from others and towards themselves. This individual would face the ruin of their reputation, and mockery from others as well as lose confidence in their own level of faith and ability to discern god's will. But, who am I to say? Maybe there are some times when God does want me to build on a swamp. Yet I suspect there are a lot of people out there building on swamps that don't have to be.
true... true...
ReplyDeleteWhy do I have this feeling that it has something to do with my last conversation with Marta? It fits so well...
Good thoughts. Sometimes it just seems to me, that 'discerning/doing God's will' quite often serves as an excuse so that we don't have to think for ourselves and take responsibility for our actions. Isn't it a bit paradoxical situation? We want to do God's will, yet right in the moment we claim we actually do it - it's gone, it's replaced by the theological barrier you mentioned, power-language etc. Any solutions?
ReplyDeleteI'm always skeptical when people say they've discerned that God has said yes or no to something they've prayed about and then claiming their actions to that response is following God's will. I don't think following God's will necessarily involves asking God yes or no questions then acting on the supposed answer. I think it's important to consult God in prayer but I also think we need to strive to follow the will of God as laid out in the scriptures. As long as we're doing that I honestly don't think God really cares that much the day to day decisions we make. So with the swamp scenario it's like the foolish man who builds his house upon the sand... maybe God would say to build there but it would seem unlikely. Unless you're Swampthing... then and only then is it okay.
ReplyDeleteI come from a similar bias dRun and tend to place more weight on what has been revealed through God's story in the way in which we live, yet I don't want to close the book on the possibility of God speaking to us through his spirit today. There are two possible solutions that I would start with:
ReplyDelete1.) To discern God's will in an honest community. If we leave discernment up to individuals there is more chances for them to "hear" a voice in their head that is just their own thoughts and pass it off as God. (I have done it) In community this danger is somewhat avoided. Yet I say "honest" community because it would need to be a group that is willing to challenge one another in love and ask tough questions and not just going along with whatever one person says because they don't want to hurt someone's feelings.
2.) I think there needs to be an exit strategy free from shame. It is extremely difficult in our christian culture to admit that you were wrong after claiming an idea was God's will. It is embarassing, it causes others to lose respect and trust for you. I know I would be scared to death that people would never trust me again if I admitted I was wrong about my discernment and I would think that they would laugh at me the next time I brought something to the group that I felt may be the will of God. In reality however, I know that I would respect and place even more trust in someone who is able to admit it when they are wrong. I think this needs to be communicated more in our communities along with a knowledge that there is grace if at any point the ship needs to be abandoned.
But I know this is a tricky subject and there is often a lot involved in these decisions and it is not so easy to abandon a ship when there are lives at stake or when you are in the middle of the ocean. And, as I said, maybe there are times when God would want us to build in a swamp, kind of like building a boat in the middle of dry land.