Convictions

Beliefs about how to live, examined or unexamined, are inevitable.
People either choose to examine their beliefs and base them on the Bible,
or they make decisions on the basis of unexamined beliefs.

I have spoken with people who believe it is best not to have “convictions” about things related to the Christian life, such as schooling or courtship. They believe that these convictions lead to pride. Usually, they are referring specifically to more conservative convictions that can lead to attitudes of superiority toward those who choose a different course. For example, a family that home schools for biblical reasons may look down on those that choose to send their children to public schools. Or a family that believes that the Bible’s teaching on children means that it is a good idea to have lots of them may look down on those who choose to have two children.

I agree that convictions can be an excuse for pride. It is also true that some people think that more conservative = better and holier. However, my observation is that avoiding conservative views is not a guard against judgmental, prideful attitudes. In fact, “conservative” is usually quite radical. Therefore, many Christians are very judgemental about conservative views because they go against the status quo. For example, this morning I heard several people discussing large families. One woman announced that her friends had eight children because they thought “God told them to have a lot of children”. She went on to give the opinion that “God wants them to use their brains”. This woman made the assumption that it requires more thought to hold to the status quo of two or three children per family than it does to rethink those commonly held beliefs and make decisions that are frowned upon. She also displayed a contemptuous attitude to people who thought differently.

People are perhaps most in danger of being judgemental when they simply assume their views are right, without giving them much thought. They have never been through a process of considering the reasons for the views of others, so they cannot appreciate why others choose differently. Beliefs about how to live, examined or unexamined, are inevitable. People either choose to examine their beliefs and base them on the Bible, or they make decisions on the basis of unexamined beliefs. The solution to judgemental attitudes is not to abandon the process of thinking about topics and coming to convictions. Rather, it is to draw everything back into a full-orbed Christian worldview. If people truly understand God’s word, they will take seriously what it teaches about pride as well as about children or education.

If Christians have a sense of proportion, they will realise that an understanding of the gospel is the most important conviction we can have! Therefore, they will not elevate other matters to a level that is disproportionate. Douglas Wilson has said that if the first thing you want to know about someone is whether or not they agree with you about a certain issue, whether it be dress standards or rock music or natural birth, you are making that issue into an idol. The first thing we should want to know about another professing believer is whether or not they truly love Jesus Christ and have a passion for the gospel. The death and resurrection of Christ, which paid the penalty of our sin, is a humbling and awing reality. The internalisation of these truths, and the power of the Holy Spirit, is all that will be effective in putting pride to death and giving us a true love for other Christians. Thoughtlessness and following the Christian status quo will not help.