The weakness of common sense

Common sense may work for many things, but not all. For instance, Shillington in his book, Reading the Sacred Text, tells of living on ‘Overwater Road’ and wondering how it got its name. He walked the road and noted how it turned toward the river and came to the conclusion this was the source of its name. He shared this insight with friends, only to later find out that the road was named after a nearby farmer whose last name was Overwater.

Shillington was illustrating the importance of thinking meaningfully about the objective world. He added the same is true for the Bible. It cannot be properly understood by “unverified insight arising out of common sense.”

Interpretation requires understanding because a person with faith in Christ will read from a different perspective than a non-believer and a conservative lay person will read differently than a liberal scholar. Obviously the perspective of others will correct or challenge our views, just as Shillington needed his neighbor to correct his understanding about the naming of Overwater Road.

That said, the Bible is not understood by common sense. Faith makes a difference in what a reader sees in that Book of books. Just before Jesus raised Lazarus, He said to his sister Martha:

“’Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.’” (John 11:40–42)

Jesus knew and saw the glory of God. The people around Him did not believe and could not see God’s glory as Jesus saw it. His miracles were intended to change their view from common sense (‘the dead do not rise’) to faith in the power of God who can do anything, yet many still could not let go of their reasoning.

I’m thinking of conversations with Christians who are mystified at the behavior and words of their unbelieving friends. Some of these Christians say, “Believing in God seems like common sense.” Yet as stated above, all approach life with our biases, backgrounds, and that innate tendency to rely on our own reasoning even though God clearly tells us to do otherwise . . .

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.” (Proverbs 3:5–7)

Chambers says I must never let common sense push the Son of God away. God gave me common sense in my humanity so I would not step in holes or stick my finger in a light socket, but common sense is not the same as the gift of His Son. Jesus gives me a supernatural sense because He senses and reveals the Father, something common sense never can or will do. As Chambers says, “Our ordinary wits never worship God unless they are transfigured by the indwelling Son of God.”

I cannot rely on my wits with the same totality and faith as relying on Jesus Christ. This is why IQ and even common sense must take second place to the revealing power of God.

The dangers of not going to church

January 13, 2008

Last Sunday in California with my relatives offered no opportunity to go to church. Had I asked, one of them would have taken me, or at least dropped me off, however, without any knowledge of the churches in the area, finding something appropriate and nearby may have been a challenge.

Here in Florida we have attended several over the years of vacationing in this area. Some are vibrant and teach the Bible (Yes, it is true; some churches do not) and we will go to one of those this morning. My devotional reading reminds me of one good reason not to miss church very often.

I love staying home, being alone, doing things on my own, but one of the dangers of time alone is the hermit thing where a person starts talking to themselves and hearing voices. In the spiritual realm, if this isn’t prayer and the Holy Spirit, it will be doubts and the enemy who fuels those doubts with his lies.

Some of the questions a loner or a lonely person might start asking are seldom vocalized, but if they were, they would sound like this: Does God really love me? Will He hear and answer my prayers? Does He understand my problems or even care about them? Will He intervene on the behalf of others that I care about and who are in danger?

Today’s devotional reading says, “Although these questions may seem irreverent to some, they simply embody the doubts and fears of a great many doubting hearts, and they only need to be asked in order to prove that these doubts and fears are in themselves the real irreverence. We know what the triumphant answers to such questions would be. No doubts could withstand their testimony; and the soul that asks and answers them honestly will be shut up to a profound and absolute conviction that God is and must be enough.”

“They only need to be asked”—yet when I am alone and get caught up in a fear or a doubt, often I don’t ask. Instead I just stew about my problems, wrangle with my fears, and fail to see the obvious. Yet when I go to church, invariable someone says something that directs my mind away from my inner battle and puts it on the glory and power of God.

The truth I need to hear that day might be in the words of a chorus, or in the sermon, or from another believer, or even something written in the bulletin. Wherever it comes from, God knew what He was doing when He put Hebrews 10:24-25 in the Bible. It says, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

I need the exhortation of others. I need to be stirred up when I get complacent, encouraged when I’m tired of doing good for others (sometimes with no visible rewards), and reminded that Jesus will return, especially when the same-old, same-old gets me down.

I also need my fears and doubts exposed, either by hearing them said out loud or by hearing the obvious answers to whatever has been flying through my head. No matter how much I think I can survive all by myself, too much time alone makes me vulnerable to oblivion and to forgetting the power and sufficiency of God.