Wednesday, March 11, 2009
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2).
IDEA: I find it is really hard to settle down and make decisions.
PURPOSE: Love is the motive key to fulfilling God's will.
Decision-making can be very difficult. In fact, for some of us, it can be almost impossible. We're afraid of decisions, and we back away from them for two reasons:
One reason for our reluctance to make decisions is that we're aware of the consequences.
The 1981 film Chariots of Fire focused on decisions and their consequences. Eric Liddell, a Scottish Presbyterian minister and a runner in the 1924 Olympics in Colombes, France, (2 blocks from our apartment!), was forced to choose between competing for the gold or refusing to run on the Lord's Day. He decided for God. In one of the film's decisive scenes, Harold Abrahams, a Jewish athlete friend, asked Liddell, "Do you have any regrets?" Liddell responded, "Regrets, yes. Doubts, no."
Sometimes we shy away from making such decisions, unsure we can handle the regrets.
Often we face decisions with uncertain consequences. Not knowing how things will turn out, we're reluctant to decide.
Some people decide not to decide. They stand immobilized at the point of decision, controlled by circumstances, abdicating all responsibility.
Decision-making can be agonizing. Following God's principles for making decisions may make them clearer, but the consequences may still be hard, and the uncertainty may continue to be great.
When we come to decisions not clearly spelled out in the Bible, we face new challenges. Life holds many choices that are not clearly related to God's moral will. What principles, then, do Christians use when submission to God's sovereign and moral will doesn't provide direction?
The Law of Love: Love is the motive key to fulfilling God's will. In at least eight separate places we are told to love God and love our neighbors: Luke 10:25-28, Romans 13:10, and Galatians 5:22.
When it comes to decisions that are not clearly dealt with in the Scriptures, we are to decide on the basis of love.
Following this principle in our culture is difficult because the meaning of "love" is up for grabs. Love is considered a strong emotion:
For those who have fallen in love, it is an overwhelming feeling. Sometimes this kind of love feels as though it's beyond our control.
A mother who has looked forward to the birth of her baby for nine months has no trouble expressing love.
But neither of these models of love—the passion of lovers nor the maternal feelings of a mother—describes the love God wants us to display.
God calls us to agape love. This is love that seeks another's highest good. It puts the other person's interests before our own.
"Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others" (Philippians 2:4).
"Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's well-being" (1 Corinthians 10:24).
Agape love is an act of the will in which we put another person's interests before our own. This means that making a decision is more than simply looking at the bottom line. An important part of every decision we make is our motives as they relate to the welfare of others.
There are some actions the Bible declares as always wrong: It is always wrong to commit adultery. It is always wrong to steal. It is always wrong to bear false witness. It is always wrong to worship idols.These issues are black and white. They are always wrong and no motive can turn evil into good.
But interestingly enough, there is no action in the Bible that is ever declared in itself to be right. Good deeds must flow from good motives or they are not good.
For example: it is a good thing to pray, but even prayer can be corrupted by bad motives. Matthew 6:5, Luke 18:10-14.
It's like playing the piano: there are no right or wrong notes. There are only right and wrong notes in the context of the musical score. Likewise, choices become right or wrong based on the motivation behind them.
Agape love calls me to seek what benefits others, not merely what benefits me. At every point of decision, each of us must ask, "Is God honored in my choice?" And when our choice affects others—who, like us, are made in the image of God—we must make our decision in love.
Many people don't want to make good decisions: they want to make painless decisions. There are many painless decisions in life and God's principles help us with those. But many of life's toughest decisions cause us agony and frustration: it seems that there is no easy choice. Here God's principle of making decisions based on a motive of love for others helps us know we are doing what God wants us to do.