There’s much value in things that are clear and certain – black or white, yes or no. And many things in life can provide us with this assurance. But life also comes with many shades of gray. And there’s not always one right answer in this gray. Our best response here is often it depends…
For instance, Paul observed that some believers felt it was okay to eat anything while others stuck to a restricted diet. And yet he didn’t declare that one decision was right while the other was wrong. The goodness of either choice came down to one’s heart of faith – honoring God and giving thanks to him.
And perhaps we still have many such considerations today.
Decisions such as political affiliation, entertainment choices, where to educate our kids, or who to associate with socially can all generate many healthy debates. But there’s still not one right answer here for everybody. The goodness of each choice depends on the heart of faith making the decision. And two vastly different decisions can both be “right” when it’s done to honor God and give him thanks.
To be sure, this plays out sexually as well. While there are some behaviors clearly sinful and outside of God’s moral boundaries for us, there remains a lot of gray within these boundaries. And once again the goodness of these decisions depends on our heart of faith. Even within the sexual freedom God has given us we must be fully convinced our actions are honoring God and done with a spirit of gratitude.
We allow unnecessary division, suffering, and false guilt when we try to force every decision into simplistic black or white options.
In the end, respect and do not compromise God’s standards for living. And allow for freedom when decisions depend on one’s heart of faith.
Photo by Chris Benson on Unsplash
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