It was in the middle of the semester and I was still working so hard on getting it done. The final required me to hand in a portfolio for pastoral ministries class. This pretty much entailed a biography of your spiritual journey, pictures, documents; almost anything that could properly describe who you are as a Christian and an individual. The final phase? Write out the focus and objective of your potential ministry. It took some time to form my idea, but I got it. I started of strong, forming my thesis, making my point, and ending with a strong conclusion. The focus? Contextualization and Biblical interpretation a.k.a intercultural ministries. In a less-wordy way, I actually means” evangelism through culture”. Did I know such a thing ever existed? Nope. But, I did grasp the necessity of the concept after reading a few books that mentioned the issue . I submitted my presentation after a hellish refining process only to get shut down. You see, my professor found my “idea” to be, and I quote, “platitudinous”.
Ouch. I felt insulted….
To call something platitudinous is like saying that there is nothing but ‘hot air’, ‘meaningless talk’, or just plain ‘rubbish’.
That was how I felt then, but now I feel different about the criticism. Little did my professor know, but his criticism catapulted me into a deep search for my own sense of ‘meaningless talk’ or ‘the things that we usually say…just because it the right things to say, while not having the slightest ‘inkling’ or sincerity in what were saying.’ Here are some of my discovered platitudes: “Praise God!” (…really?), “Give Thanks” (really…)
Now, just give me a moment to explain before you think of this a borderline blasphemy. I thought to myself that it was wiser to refrain form such vocalization when it becomes nothing more than ‘just the RIGHT THING to say.’ After all, isn’t that what the Pharisees did?
Now, what about “it’s God’s will“?
In the event of having things go the way that I desired them to I would always conclude…this is ‘God’s will’ or, when I made a personal effort to secure something there would be the religious idea that….”it is God’s will“. I’ve used this as the ‘Gap-of-Excuses’ for a lot of things, but I now realize it was pretty much another way of saying, ‘Hey, what I want isn’t bad, so God should have no problem helping me get this.”…really?
You probably asking “What’s wrong with that?”
Well, just slamming the holy stamp of God’s approval on everything ‘we see’ as harmless or permissible can give a false sense of security. It’s like penciling in an item that you didn’t buy from the store on a receipt. Yeah, its food. yeah the supermarket sells it, but that doesn’t mean they sold it to you and it doesn’t mean you bought it there. Why then do I do it with my life? Then, when things don’t go as well as they should God, The Stamper, gets blasted. “Why didn’t you help me!?” (Yup, I’ve said that before.)
I think at this point it’s important to understand exactly what the Bible talking about when it says “God’s will“.
Let’s do some logic. If the Bible does in fact speak of “God’s will” for something in humanity, then what is it? I think if this question can be answered, then we can know what it is that “God wills” and not walk around with a deterministic view the Christian life. God does give us the will to choose, which creates the possibility of screwing up royally. I think anyone can survey our own life and discover this one.
The Theme of the Bible, from what I’ve read so far is the Fall and God’s Redemptive Plan for man. Yes, it sounds boring and theological. Give it another name if you’d like, but it is what it is. So, since the theme is clear, what’s God’s will about? I like John 3:16 for this one. It tell us ‘How’ God shows His love for the world. Take a look at it, recite it if you will, but don’t miss that point. God wills to save the world from destruction. Ever heard of “The Day of The Lord”? Think Sodom and Gomorrah x 1000….Don’t believe me? Read 2 Peter 3:10 if there’s a Bible around.
Wait a minute. We can say, “But that’s not personal enough. What about God’s will for my life, like my job, and school, etc”
Hmm…good question. Restated: How Then Should I Live?
I think the epistles pretty much spell out what God expects from Christians. Like Romans 12-13 (paraphrase: live a life of grace), 1 Cor 10:23, 24 (paraphrase: Seek the good of other people, Not just yourself), 1 Cor 13 (paraphrase: love is the greatest work you can do), Eph 4:1-3; 5:1 (paraphrase: Be united children of God), or Philippians 2 (paraphrase: be like Jesus). Or, may favorite:
“He has shown you ‘O man’ what is good, and what the LORD requires of you! Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with your God!” Micah 6:8
I hope that you get the distinction I’m trying to make here….
God’s Will (or desire, rightly translated thelema) is Redemption. He expects our lives to reflect his goodness in how you raise you children, where you work, what kind of job you do, how you speak, how you live, how you handle finances, etc. As for how much money you will make, or what kind of job you can get? Well, unfortunately, the Bible is silent on such things. However, it does have something to say to the rich man as it does to the poor man.
Bottom line, I know now what’s God will’s for my life. I know what he expects from my life. Let’s hope I don’t put my expectations (401k, house & a yacht, etc) to be His will. There’s room for choice and failure. I think I can give the phrase ‘God’s will’ back it’s meaning again, if I can refrain from confusing it with his expectation.
Whatever we do, just Glorify God. Our will is free.
Verum Unus 