The Squishy Issues
by Luke McConnell
We live in a world that is not black and white. Yet much of the time, we crave the concrete nature of a black and white world. In that reality, we don’t have to worry about exceptions, and right and wrong are abundantly clear. We also don’t have to think, and I think that’s probably a big reason why our world is not black and white.
Why would God give us brains, a conscience, the Holy Spirit, if we did not need those things? God has given us the freedom to live a life that honors him in a variety of ways. The way I live for the glory of God may look completely different than my friends, but at the end of the day, if we are obedient to Christ and are for the things that are near to the heart of God, we are both living for the glory of God.
There are many arenas where Christians live life in very different ways. I remember talking to Abe one day about adoption. His passion for seeing Christians adopt, not just support adoption services and be for adoption in a general sense, led to a failure to fathom why a close friend of his—similarly passionate about adoption–wouldn’t just adopt himself.
It’s hard for us to hold passion and application separately in our hands. What I mean by that is that we can be for something like adoption and support adoption, pray over adoption while never adopting ourselves. God doesn’t call all of us to every possible application of obedience. Some will adopt, some will financially support, some will volunteer time and energy for others to adopt, or some combination of all of those. All are obedience, all are good things.
For me, education is a squishy issue where I struggle with this idea. There are many reasons for my struggle, so I’ll lay out my biases first. I had a tremendous education in public schools. My wife, Mary, is a public school teacher. Serving in Whiz Kids where we deal with the students in a public school also affects me.
Like I said, I struggle in the realm of education with the issue I mentioned above, holding passion and application separately. As believers, we champion organizations that reach the most vulnerable. Public schools fall into this category in the education field. Some of the most important work we do on the Outside-the-Walls team at Council Road is through public schools, including Whiz Kids. Because of your faithfulness, CRBC, and because of God’s provision, we have 35 kids and 27 families represented in the program this year.
But the fact there are many believers who don’t send their kids to public schools is hard for me to understand. I confess that and own that. I’ve had several conversations recently to help me understand why this happens. I’ve also seen close friends grapple with the reality that public school simply cannot provide what their kids need. Both have helped me see beyond my biases and opinions and see the nuance to every situation and decision.
For the record, I’m not delving into an argument for public education over all other forms. This isn’t the place for that. What I am doing is holding up education as an example of a squishy issue where we can disagree with fellow believers, perhaps even vehemently, and still be walking side-by-side in obedience to Christ. My views may be strong (too strong, even), but they are not gospel.
And this all comes back to the fact our world is not black and white, and why it’s so important we trust Christ, dive deep in Scripture and use the brain and conscience God has given us. Paul talks a lot about our consciences in his letters, particularly to the Corinthian believers. As Christians, our consciences are guided by the Holy Spirit, who directs our steps along the path God has for us.
As members of the body of Christ, not only must we ensure we are seeking God in our decisions, but we also must trust each other to do the same. If close friends of mine send their kids to private schools, I have to trust they’ve really sought God in making that decision and have God-honoring reasons, just like they need to trust I’ve done the same in sending my kids to public schools.
James 4:1 says, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” Division happens when we allow the desires and opinions we have to rise above the Gospel. The Gospel reveals us all to be sinners in desperate need of our Savior, Jesus. We are all on the same team; we’re all on the same playing field. No one has an inside track to wisdom or the right way to do things. The same Holy Spirit dwells in each of us. Let’s show we understand that with how we trust each other.
We can have solid, biblically-based reasons for any form of education for our children. We can also have selfish, prideful, biblically-absent reasons for any form of education for our children. And this applies to any squishy issue we face as believers, not just our children’s education. We can make decisions with the guidance of the Holy Spirit or with the guidance of the world and our own opinions.
The one mandate we have is that we bring glory to God in our decisions and in our decision-making process. I’m sure many of us have made decisions that weren’t as sound in hindsight as we would have liked. Perhaps we relied on our own understanding and not on God’s (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Our world is not black and white and because of that, we will have to think. When we do, let’s honor God. May you honor God in your decisions, and may you seek God’s purpose in Scripture and in prayer when the answer is not clear. May the Spirit guide you to what is best for you and your family and your journey with God. And may we strive to live in harmony with one another, especially in the squishy areas of life.
Author Bio
Luke serves as the Cube Director at Council Road. He previously worked at Channel 9 as a sports writer and an account executive. He also serves as the play-by-play voice for Southern Nazarene University athletics. Luke graduated from OU in 2011. He and his wife, Mary, have been members at Council Road since 2012. They have four boys: Andrew, Logan, Jackson and Cameron. Mary teaches third grade at Wiley Post Elementary. They also help lead a home group.