Original Entry: June 27, 2008
McMinnville, OR
Blessed
are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. Psalm 119:2
I seek you
with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. Psalm 119:10
I have a
friend who sees life in black and white.
Life is simple for him. There is no room for gray; only black and white,
good or bad, right or wrong. Sometimes
his black and white world is shaken up by something in the gray zone and he is
challenged to focus on the issue at hand. Though simple, life isn’t always
black and white. To look at life as black and white, good and bad, right and
wrong when pressured we are compelled to sway to Christian legalism or
liberalism; both of which are extremes that have moved away from the heart of
God. For instance, to claim that alcohol
is bad and should never be consumed is taking a huge legalistic leap that even
bounds over Jesus’ first miracle at Cana (John
2:1-10). But to consume alcohol on
such a regular and liberal basis as to build a tolerance is also a form of
Christian liberalism that errs on the side of sin and gluttony.
I know all
the arguments against alcohol, but with alcohol, men are better served having a
stance somewhere in the middle (except in cases of addiction of course) even if
they are not consumers of alcohol.
Have you
ever heard someone say, “Everything in moderation”? I have. In defense of my
friend, let’s look at this Christian Cliché, regarding moderation.
Psalm 119:10 says, I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your
commands.” To seek God with ALL is a black and white saying
wouldn’t you agree? Wouldn’t you also
agree that this would be a strike against the phrase, “Everything in
moderation?” Moderation seems to contradict the God who said, “Because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor
cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation3:16).
Moderations
twin is “sometimes”, “usually” or “often” but never “all”. “All” speaks of black and white, right or
wrong, good or bad, hot or cold. “All” is a punch in the face to those who live
in the gray zone of moderation.
What is a
man’s best play then? How does he give God his all while dealing with these
gray areas of faith? The solution seems to be in the second part of verse 10, “Do not let me stray from your commands.” Admittedly there are many gray areas in the
Scriptures but they must never detract from the main thing, a man giving God
his all, his best. Man’s obedience to the God he serves is preeminent to all
things. If a man must err let it be on the side of black and white rather than
gray if gray is a compromise to everything he knows to be true in God’s Word.
Moderation
only goes as far what the Word of God says.
