In the forth and final section of Decision Making and the Will of God (which I will review in two posts), the authors turn to explaining how their wisdom view of guidance and decision making applies in real life situations. In particular, they address the “Big 3″ of marriage, vocation, and education. The issue of giving is also addressed.
Throughout this section, the book refers to the couple highlighted in the first section of the book who managed to be facing all of the “Big 3″ at the same time. My review will focus more on the ideas presented however.
Marriage and the Wisdom View
In the traditional view, the pressure for decision-making regarding marriage is unbelievable. After all, if there’s an individual perfect will for us, then there is only one person that is eligible to be our spouse, and marriage is definitely something you don’t want to make a mistake on. In addition, a person’s “intended spouse” could marry someone else, thus making it impossible to follow God’s will. Even worse, a mistake regarding marriage cannot be undone (divorce being prohibited in most situations), and thus after making a wrong decision (or having one made for you) it is impossible to re-enter God’s perfect will.
The first issue regarding marriage that needs to be considered is whether we should get married at all. Both Jesus and Paul state that singleness is a valid, and in some ways, the preferred, option. However, according to Jesus, singleness is not for everyone: “not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given.” Paul echoes this in 1st Cor. 7, and so it appears that scripture teaches that there is something like a “gift of singleness” and that people who possess it (presumably this included Jesus and Paul) should stay unmarried. The basis however, is not God’s individual will, but rather spiritual expediency. As, 1st Cor. 7:35 puts it: “This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.”
The 2nd question concerning marriage is who we should marry. It should not be addressed until the first issue (whether or not to marry) is made. The book cites 2 Cor 6:14-16, amongst others, to show that Christians are to marry other Christians. This is a limitation, but it is not something that tells us specifically who to marry.
The book then gets into what one should consider when looking for a potential spouse:
1. Moral and Spiritual Characteristics - Men and women should look for those who demonstrate that they are able and willing to fulfill marital responsibilities, and the proposed spouse would be someone that it would be relatively easy for them to meet their commitments to. For example, a woman should not marry someone if she does not think it would be easy for her to submit to him.
2. Spiritual Console - People should seek the advice of mature Christians in this regard.
3. Common Sense - Things such as individual goals (if one person wants to be an overseas missionary and the other doesn’t, there might be a problem), interests (preferably one would not hate things the other really likes), and compatibility (desires for children, how to raise children, concern for possessions, etc) should not be overlooked.
I have to say that I found this section a bit weak, but perhaps I just want more details and specific methodology than is really available.
Vocation and the Wisdom View
The book then turns to addressing how decisions pertaining to a person’s vocation should be made, with a particular emphasis on ministry positions. According to the traditional view, the decision to enter the ministry (that is, full time “Christian work” jobs such as pastor or missionary) should not be made unless that person has felt a call to do so.
The authors object to that view. They note that the examples of people being called to ministry in scripture was by the means of supernatural revelation (audible voice of God, or through a prophet), which is not what is often meant by “call” today, which refers to an inward sense. Instead, a person should enter the ministry if they posses the biblical qualifications to do so (such as are found in 1 Tim 3 and many other places) and if they have the desire to do so for the right reasons.
The authors acknowledge that in fact all believers all called to ministry, whatever their job happens to be. The moral will of God as pertaining to our vocations can be found in scripture. There is a long list in the book that covers what that will is. It includes such things as working diligently and to show respect even to unreasonable masters. The basis of choosing a job should be wisdom and spiritual expediency. The question to ask, as the book puts it is:
Given my aptitudes, abilities, gifts, desires, and opportunities, which vocation would offer the greatest potential for my service to the Lord and my obedience to His moral will?
I found the section on vocation to be quite sound biblically, and far superior to the method some employ of having to “hear a call” before they can do a certain job (such as be a missionary).
Considerably less ink is spent on the third of the books’ big three decisions, education. The same guidelines apply to it that applied to vocations; choices should be made with wisdom on the basis of spiritual expediency.
Giving and the Wisdom View
Besides the “big three” issues, the authors specifically address the subject of giving. In their minds, the Traditional View sometimes distorts the scriptural view of giving. The first issue is the tithe. The book points out that there were at least two different tithes in the Old Testament. The first was ten percent of all one’s possessions (Lev 27:30-33) and was used to support the Levites and the temple ministry (Num 18:20-21). A second tithe was for a sacred meal in Jerusalem (Deut 12:17-18). It is less clear if there was a third tithe every third year for the poor (Deut 12:17-18), or if that is combined with the second tithe. The tithes functioned as a tax system, and they were required.
The command to tithe however is not found in the New Testament. Neither does the church act as a temple storehouse nor does it need a tax-like system. As the authors put it, “Believers today couldn’t obey Malachi 3:8-10 if they wanted to.” In contrast, the church is supported as each member gives “as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion (2 Cor 9:7).”
The traditional view also leads to “Faith Promise” type giving, where believers commit to giving a set amount of money beyond their tithes based on what they think God is calling them to do, and trust that God will provide this money so they can give it. This violates 2 Cor 8:12 - that a person should give according to what they have, not what they don’t have, as well as being a direct result of the traditional view, which the authors reject.
There is then a long lists of biblical principals upon which we actually should base are giving. Giving is according to various places in 2nd Corinthians characterized by: joy, cheerfulness, liberality, eagerness, willingness, perseverance, and integrity. The gift is not determined by the amount, but by its cost (2 Cor 8:2) and the greatest threat to giving is not poverty but covetousness (2 Cor 9:5). To quote the book, “The question should be … not ‘How much can I give?’ but, ‘How much can I give up?’”
I found the giving section pretty convincing, but then again I already shared this view, so perhaps I was biased a bit.
Next week: When Christians Differ
Obviously, I have already said many positive things about this book (based soley on the book review, mind). However, I must ad that the view on giving is basically my view verbetum.
At the same time, I go to and serve in a church that is fairly strong on the tithing method. My wife and and do not tithe, rather we give to any ministries which feed us (including our church) as much as we can give up and also to missions. When we have had very little money at times we, at the very least, attempt to “pay” for the services we receive. Also, we give anonymously because of tremendous issues with pride in giving as well as a temptation to demand some decision making over the money.
In general, there is a tremendous amount of shaming and guilting associated with the tithing view, and opposed to that a lot of moral superiourity and self-righteousness. We have found that rather than go to a church that supports our view on giving, we can give anonymously to “not play the game” at all of tithing and all of the political considerations associated with it.
I don’t know if the authors address this kind of thing or not, but it is some pragmatic details that may be helpful.
“For example, a woman should not marry someone if she does not think it would be easy for her to submit to him.”
I think is an interesting point, and this was one of a couple reasons why I married the person I did. (The second reason was we were headed in the same direction as far as life goals, but others met that qualification.) And even though I cringe at the word “submit,” due to its bad connotations, I felt that the person I married was both smart enough and strong enough not to be run over by me. He wasn’t the best looking or the most sociable of guys I dated, but he did fit this qualification–and 30 years later, I still think I made a good choice.
This sounds like a book I can agree with. I’ve already come to the conclusion that tithing is a specific Old Testament concept that is impossible to practice today, and that Faith Promise giving is unwise and unbiblical.
Usually when people today talk about tithing, they are really talking about giving (2 Corinthians) rather than the OT tithe. Sometimes the word tithe is used to distinguish giving to the church from giving to non-church charities. I avoid using the term, because it’s not technically accurate, but I recognize that other people use the word to mean something completely different. I suppose if a church were citing Old Testament passages to justify their understanding of the proper way to give to the church, then that would be wrong and I would object. Otherwise, it’s just a terminology issue.
Jew, that’s a good point, but many of the churches I have first-hand experience with use Malachi 3 as a justification for tithing. By which they mean giving 10 percent of one’s income to the church.
The Church of the Nazarene has a yearly Faith Promise campaign (it’s even called “Faith Promise”). I only participated once, and I’m afraid I rather broke the spirit of the thing since I already had the money I pledged.
I agreed most with this part of the review in comparison to the others. It seems that the author’s are attempting to address excesses where questions about decision-making have been asked. I agreed with everything this post said with regards to the author’s views about deciding whether to marry and who to marry.
A part of me would like to read this book, but then again I really don’t have the time - at least not right now. Maybe then I would have more license to respond to some of the assertions the book makes. But however premature this may seem, I think that a possible flaw in the book is a tendency towards overcorrection. Anything that is reactionary in dealing with excess is prone to overcorrection. One example is Calvinism, which came about as an overcorrection to Catholic theology. So in the end both schools of thought end up with serious flaws.
But to some extent, however uninformed I am, I may share some of the author’s sentiments about some of these excesses. There have been times that I would seek God about particular things without receiving any direction at all. You know, you can’t fake it. Either the Holy Ghost is saying something or he isn’t. Some of the time, people are on the wrong frequency so-to-speak and they can’t hear Him. (God is a spirit, so to hear Him we must remain in the Spirit.) One the other hand, some things I have found God just won’t address at all. He expects people to have enough intelligence to figure some things out on their own. I think marriage, with some possible exceptions, generally falls into that category.
Having said that, let me say this. There have been times when I didn’t feel right about people getting married. In one recent situation, this was in part due to some things the Lord revealed to me by a manifestation of the Spirit when I saw something about the woman. But the other part of it was almost common sense. (I don’t expect everyone to understand this, and I know I’m really putting myself out there by saying this but I really don’t care.) Just knowing the soon-to-be husband’s personality, I could see how he would hinder what I saw her doing ministry-wise. I didn’t say anything to anyone about it. It wasn’t my place, and they wouldn’t have listened. All I can do is pray.
So although I don’t think God isn’t necessarily going to tell you who to marry. He might definitely tell you who not to marry. If people have common sense, he might not need to tell anyone. But when you are “in love” its easy to get on the wrong frequency. Your emotions will crowd out wisdom and common sense. And let me say this: wisdom should not be distinguished from being led by the Spirit. He is ,after all, the “Spirit of wisdom and revelation.” Knowledge of his word and the accompanying wisdom that occurs when we practice this knowledge is just as important as the inner witness or any supernatural revelation, and probably more so.
Hey, you just about have an article there.
“Hey, you just about have an article there.”
You and Colin… Man, I don’t know. Maybe some day.
Nice writing but there are some errors.
For example concerning the tithe you wrote; “The book points out that there were at least two different tithes in the Old Testament. The first was ten percent of all one’s possessions (Lev 27:30-33)…”
Yet the word ‘possession’ or any likeness to it; does not appear on the provided Scripture reference.
Rev. Amos Ortiz
www.tithedeception.blogspot.com
www.diezmodecepcion.blogspot.com
“Paul echoes this in 1st Cor. 7, and so it appears that scripture teaches that there is something like a “gift of singleness” and that people who possess it (presumably this included Jesus and Paul) should stay unmarried”
Nowhere in the Bible does it say that anyone “should” stay unmarried, but rather they *could* stay unmarried — but as long as they are gifted with sufficient sexual self-control (or perhaps, a passion for a mission that exceeds the desire to marry).