155. Bible Questions: What should I do about all the "gray areas" of life not specifically talked about in the Bible?

E155:  Bible Questions:  What should I do about all the “gray areas” of life? 

 It's a question I often get from my students. How should I handle those gray areas of life? You know, the stuff for the Bible is not absolutely clear. Cut clear about what I should do. This question is asked even more by my middle schools, big brothers and sisters and their parents put a bunch of people in a room and throw out a question about a gray area. Then stand back and listen to the conversation in that room. You'll have people on both ends of the gray area, spectrum on the one end, those who believe all of life in this messy, complicated world is gray. Those people would say every situation's a snowflake.

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There isn't much of any black and white at all. Other people in the room. Believe there's very little gray at all that God desires good behavior in his kids. So he gave his written revelation. The Bible they'd say to those folks who think everything is messy and gray. Hey, let's start with the 10 commandments God's family rules. Those are commandments, not suggestions to this. The people on the other side would respond in the Bible. Even some of those 10 commandments weren't followed. They might point out the midwives in Egypt who told a great big whopping light of Pharaoh in order to save the lives of babies. And what does God do?

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He blesses the midwives with their own families, or they might point out Ray Hab, the harlot of Jericho who told a similarly large Whopper to the mayor and some deputies about the Israelite spies. She had hidden on the roof. And what does God do for breaking that commandment? You shall not lie. He saves her and her family from the destruction of Jericho makes her a part of the Israelite family and includes her as an ancestor. In of all things, the life of the Messiah, Jesus pointing those things out. They might say, let's be wise. We have to assess what to do in each situation to which the people on the black and white side would say.

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So what is your criteria for deciding what to do? The gray area folks would say, well, you think it through and do it as right? The black and white people would jump in. So take the commandment, thou shalt not steal. So you're saying certain situations would make it okay for someone to steal your car. The credit that belongs to you or your husband, is that right? They might add, if you don't have black and white scripture, how do you make an assessment of what you should do in any given situation to which the world is gray and messy folks would say, well, you use your brain. You think it over. And you do what you think is right. The black and white folks would immediately point you to the book of judges.

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That was the theme in the book of judges. We studied that in episodes, 48 and 50. You might

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Want to listen to that if you haven't already, but maybe not on

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A full stomach. It's really ugly. When selfish, sinful children of any age, do what they think is right in their eyes. The black and white folks might add God revealed to us right? And wrong behaviors. He said it, I'm going to believe it and do it too. Which the gray folks will say, it's not that easy to figure out what God said. Especially to this broken fallen world. They might point out things that I pointed out in episode six, seven, and eight are distorted vision from our upbringing and culture and the difficulty of we creatures, trying to figure out our creator, God himself had said his ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts and our thoughts.

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So sometimes it's even hard to understand what God really means. I hope from that back and forth, imaginary conversation in a room, you can understand why my students have questions about gray areas. It is an important question and a really big deal in navigating life. Especially if you believe the Bible is God's manual for life and practice. If you've read the Bible, you know, it's not a catalog. God gave us for every situation that would come up down through history. It doesn't include guidance for some specific things we wrestle with every day, many brought on by technology and science should a couple do in vitro.

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Fertilization is fetal tissue research. Okay? That's one small area that we wrestle with all the time and scripture doesn't specifically address that specific issue. But that doesn't mean it doesn't give us guidance. I often use a down to earth issue. My students are more familiar with. I asked them when you get old enough to legally drink, is there a place in your life for alcohol? Now scripture does give at least one black and white guidance on alcohol, both in the modeling of people and in command, the command is don't get crocked. Don't lose control of yourself.

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And the modeling is it never works out well. We saw that in the life of Noah and lot and others, but what about wine and other spirits as a part of life's festivities done in moderation? Is that okay for my individual students using that as an example, I take them to the book of Galatians, Galatians addresses, especially those in my imaginary room that think everything is black and white. Now, if you haven't been following us in the word picture series, the new Testament letters, Romans through Jude are the most doctrinal letters in the Bible. They were written specifically to give us day to day 24 7 guidance on how to live God honoring lives.

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As followers of Messiah Jesus, over half of those letters were written by the apostle Paul. So when it comes to gray areas, that is the most fertile soil to go looking for principles or guidance to answer those questions. Is this behavior or activity. Okay. For me in Galatians chapter five, verse one, Paul pleads with us not to be chained up to a life of black and white rule keeping. But in verse 13, he adds, please don't terrorize yourself in the neighborhood by running loose, doing whatever you want. Whatever's right in your own eyes. Then in episode 1 33, we looked at the letter to the Corinthians.

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The Corinthians were brand new baby believers who were in the other side of this room, who pretty much did whatever they pleased. Paul writes a letter to them and says, yeah, it's great. You're not chained up to rules, but you can't just run the hood. Then Paul gives us a ton of help for gray areas. If I can continue my dog metaphor. If you've had a neighbor who's put in invisible fence, a wire is buried in the ground and then little white flags identified that wire around the property. The dog wears a shock collar. And when it gets near those flags, that wire sends a signal to stop. And if the dog doesn't stop, it gets a little motivation to come to a halt, a jolt in the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul gives us some principles, little flags to look for flags, to let us know where our yard ends.

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The boundaries of our freedom. I want to give you six of these boundary flags principles. Paul gives in first Corinthians that I think will be extremely helpful for those messy gray areas in a fallen world. These flags are found in chapter six, eight and 10 of first Corinthians. The first flag is the benefit flag. Paul says, you may say I'm allowed to do anything, but I reply. Not everything is good for you. If what you're thinking of doing is not an activity that will help you become all you can be. Then your yard may be ending. That activity may not be for you, which leads to a second little white flag.

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The mastery flag, Paul writes. And even though I'm allowed to do anything, I must not become a slave to anything. Is this an area you can go ask yourself the question. If what I'm thinking of doing has a likelihood of becoming addictive for me. Then my yard may be ending the third flag. I'm going to call the unity flag. Speaking to Christians. He says, don't you realize your bodies are actually parts of Christ. Jesus told us his spirit in dwells. Those who believe in him, this potential activity ask yourself, would I be comfortable seeing Jesus engage in this activity?

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Because joined to Christ, I'm taking Jesus with me in there. Anyway, a fourth flag, the honor flag. Paul writes you don't belong to yourself for God, bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. Is this gray area activity in your yard? If the gray area activity you were thinking about doing is an inappropriate response to the one who shed his blood to purchase you. Then your yard may be ending. Paul adds a fifth flag in chapter eight. I call it the injury flag. Paul writes, you must be careful with this freedom of yours. Do not cause a brother or sister with a weaker conscience.

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The stumble, if the activity I'm thinking about doing is being observed and could injure someone with a sensitive conscience to this area. Then my yard may be ending. At least around this person. Paul continues this injury flag in chapter 10 saying, you say I'm allowed to do anything. Don't think only of your own good think of other Christians and what's best for them. Paul is saying essentially, if you're a gray area activity is self-centered rather than other sensitive, you may be crossing a line. And finally, Paul adds the glory flag in first Corinthians, chapter 10. He says this, whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, you must do all for the glory of God.

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Wow. Paul saying, if this activity you're thinking about doing does not give you the sense that God would smile on it with pleasure and applaud, then your yard may be ending. It may be off limits. So what am I saying to this question about gray areas? Well, God has prohibited many activities clearly with you shall nots. Very rarely. There's an exception like the midwives in Egypt. So let's not cross them to individual believers who walked through these principles of Paul, these little white flags. I feel like there are very few true gray areas. Most are pretty clearly marked by these flags.

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Here's one that might bother you. Each believers yards, a little different God may allow an activity like moderate drinking for your closest Christian friend. But because of those principles, we just went through. He'll say, it's not for you. We need to be okay with that. There aren't cookie cutter rules. So in general, let's back off on each other. That is, unless we notice something they don't notice. Unless for example, we see our brother or sister can't drink in moderation. They've crossed the mastery flag and are heading toward addiction. Then we need to speak up. Oh, and one more thing, God called you to freedom, to run and jump and play in the yard.

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God has made for you. Or as David said in Psalm 16, you have drawn the boundary lines around my life in pleasant places. Indeed let's enjoy the life. God has given us in Christ by playing gratefully within the yard. He's established for each of us.