Am I Always Right?(Post 3 of 5)

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I’m
a faith blogger. I develop and lead Bible studies. I published 2 small group
study guides and I’m working on a Christian non-fiction inspirational book. I
spend a fair amount of time studying the Bible. God wants me to teach. I know
this without doubt.

But
I’m also more tempered today than I was 20 years ago with the words I pen and
the studies I facilitate as I consider: Am I leading people in the right
direction? Am I honoring God’s Word and His character within my circle of
influence? Do I represent biblical truth in ways that move people toward the
true God, or do I leave them to piece together ill-conceived notions about Him?

The fact is: my understanding is not perfect. It’s not even close. It's impossible to fully understand God and His truth (Romans 11:33-36 and Isaiah55:8-9). We cannot compare to God. He transcends us in every way (Isaiah40:12-26). And as I study and reflect, I realize there is always more to learn.

This post offers a deeper look at Life Pursuit 2 in The Most Important Life Pursuits. Life Pursuit 2 is: Be
less adamant.

Be less adamant because we can’t know it all.

We fall short of knowing and understanding truth and life as God designed
and purposed, so why do we sometimes think we know more than others? Why are we
tempted to lord our opinions over the people around us, the people we work with,
those of a different economic status, or those who have opposing political positions?
Have we considered that maybe we don’t know as much as we claim? Do we realize
that viewpoints and perspectives of others are probably valid? And not just
those of fellow Christians, but also of non-Christians?

Let’s read one of the references I listed above:

Romans 12:33-34

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of
God!

How unsearchable his judgments,

and his paths beyond tracing out!

“Who has known the mind of the
Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?”

"Who has known the mind of the Lord?" Surely, not us. Which of God’s
unsearchable judgments have we discovered and understood on our own? Our answer
should be none.

And we’re not banking up points as a result of any sage
advice, godly anecdotes, or profound opinions we convince people to adopt.

…continuing to verses 35-36

“Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”
For from him and through him
and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever!
Amen.

All glory belongs to God. All wisdom comes from Him. We receive our
knowledge and faith from God as gifts.

Friends, we must be less adamant about our conclusions and opinions.
I’m not saying we can't get to know God. I'm not saying we shouldn't stand for truth and trust God to answer our prayers and fulfill
His promises. I'm not saying we shouldn't speak out for Him. I’m saying our knowledge is a work in progress. Our faith falls
short. We’re not always in sync with God, and our tendency is to fall out of
sync. This is who we are. We’re not always right, and we’re sometimes wrong.
Maybe we’re often wrong.

Our knowledge is a work in progress.
Our faith falls short.
We're not always in sync with God,
and our tendency is to fall out of sync.

***

Be less adamant because nobody likes a know-it-all.

We often find (or force) ourselves in the position of Bible teacher.
Listen to what James says about teachers:

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers,
because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

James 3:1

Our teaching is scrutinized by God.

James followed up verse 1 with a discussion on the power of the tongue. Its “a
world of evil among the parts of the body” (James 3:6). Many animals can be
tamed, “but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of
deadly poison” (James 3:8).

This is what an overly adamant Bible interpretation is: “a world of
evil among the parts of the body,” and “a restless evil, full of deadly
poison.” Even a very solid interpretation can be “full of deadly poison” if it
is presented by a know-it-all who lacks grace and compassion. When both fresh water and salt water flow from the same stream, it’s really just salt water (James 3:9-12).

When both fresh water and salt water
flow from the same stream,
it's really just salt water.
***

Why do we express our beliefs and opinions so strongly? Is it for the
benefit of others? Is it to glorify our God?

Some final thoughts

When we set out to teach or to present our biblical perspectives, do we
do so with humility? Do we consider that our understanding is faulty? Do we
recognize we are human and we don’t have the mind of God?

Proper Bible interpretation and teaching it well does matter because the eternal fate of
others and ourselves depends on it, but we can be so adamant about our beliefs
that we hurt another person’s mental and spiritual wellbeing (Romans 14:1-15:13). People matter (see
my prior post). We might push our beliefs so belligerently onto others that we
cause arguments, division, hatred, violence, or worse…and we might even enjoy
it. God forbid that we seek out victims just to fight with them (verbally or
otherwise). Haven’t we all seen this and perhaps experienced it firsthand?

Here’s the bottom line: We can turn people away with a know-it-all
attitude. If we really want people to know and trust the love and sacrifice of
Jesus, shouldn’t we represent Him with grace and gentleness? We want them to grow fond of the Savior, don't we? Isn’t their
relationship with Jesus more important than our desire to be right?

I’ve had some interactions with naysayers on Twitter. They usually pose
a seemingly honest question but what they really want is a debate. I typically
respond. I proceed with caution and compassion because the other person may be
sincere, but also because I want anyone else following the conversation to hear
God’s truth seasoned with grace and sincere care. But if the interaction does
develop into a debate, I bow out for lack of common ground. I would probably
lose the argument anyway, but there are never really any winners in a debate. A wedge
is not the same as a win.

I’ll close with a quote from my introductory post to this series:

I
imagine someday after I see Jesus face-to-face, that I will look back at all I
have written in His name and recognize much that I misunderstood. May we teach,
lead, and encourage others with humility, because we don’t understand all of
God’s Word and His ways.

—–

Read the other 3 life pursuits and the intro:
Intro: The Most Importan Life Pursuits
1. Do We Value Others?
3. Align with God
4. Trust Jesus. It's Time.

If you have questions about Jesus and His gift
of salvation, a truth that God made very clear in the Bible, please email me at
authordlv@att.net.