We need to remind ourselves that mankind and God may not think alike in many contexts. In mercy God permits considerable range for human beings, in that he knows so much more than we do, and has the tolerances he chooses to use. God has grace/tolerance for our ignorance, distractions, omissions, contradictions, foibles – the words multiply. In response and respect we ought to try to discover God’s modus operandi as he reveals important information in Scripture, both for spiritual and natural issues. The burden of the Christian is to understand the fact that the presuppositions of God are not the common presuppositions of human beings. That fact alone can, and does, lead to endless discussion in attempts to find a pattern that is workable between an imperfect context in nature and a perfect context in God’s kingdom. We may rebel. We can illustrate the point in various ways.
An illustration is easily followed on the theme of love. We presume that to love is to be returned by love. If not loved, or feel that we are not, we walk away to divorce, or hatred, or abandonment, or drop-out. God answers: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. (Matthew 5:44) We may tend to relegate persons to lower status who serve our needs. In these early days of legal right for gender neutral marriage it has been discovered that one of the main problems between partners has been related to who does the housework. My wife was a stay-at-home person, even thanking me in our last days before her death that I counted her as doing God’s will in her dedication to our children and home. She wanted to know if the words of some friends to her about not making her own career were humiliating. I assured her that her work, in God’s order of family, was certainly equal to mine. God evaluates us, not by job status in the presuppositions of mankind, but in the faithful performance of what we are given to do. Faithfulness is the key to his awards. God answers: Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. (Matthew: 20:27) Jesus identified himself as a servant. He asked the Apostles to be servants. He warned us that we were in peril in thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought. For God the evaluation is in the quality, the purity of what is done, not in the categories of what is done. Scripture addresses the issue in various ways such as a vessel of this purpose and a vessel for that, not on the basis of the context in which the vessel is used, but in the effectiveness of the vessel to serve its assigned purpose. This does not mean he approves of every context, but that we should do well in any context in which we find ourselves. God is to be honored, as the Apostle implies, if Onesimus returns to his master, but the master is informed that as a Christian, Onesimus ought to be freed. At the least, the master must understand that this servant is to be treated as a spiritual brother with the same benefits before God as the master. In this sense the master may discover that in God’s acceptance Onesimus has been freed – so put the ribbon on the gift. The world forms are included in God’s applications, because some order of society is better than none at all. This too explains such statements as: . . . . the powers that be are ordained of God. (Romans 13:1) The Apostle knew that the Roman power was oppressive, but, as a Christian he managed it, and with persistence would bring about change – which is what happened. It was then diluted by pagan retention. Failing occurred during periods when the doctrine was solid enough, but the conduct remained in violation. That was, and is, ugliness for human conduct. Church ways in managing conflict may not be divine. We may presume this occurs because the world is so much with us that we take the world’s human route as guide.
We do not demand our rights but work for them. Our tools are persuasion (truth), prayer (God), Scripture (guide), peace (love/patience), and respect (currency). We do not rebel against our fellow citizens but woo them. We do not serve for high reward but for improvement. We do not approve falsehood but seek truth. We do not work in pride but in humility to faithfulness. We accept but do not approve ignorance so educate to push it back. We do not decide against institutions, but seek to make them effective for purpose. We do not approve the carnality of society, but show in model lives what it means to be approved in righteousness. We do not expect all ideals, but believe they exist to be used. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020