Day 32 “Gray Areas”

Devotional:

Wearing jeans or shorts to church. Going to movies. Playing cards. Having drums in church. Playing the lottery or gambling. Smoking or using tobacco. Drinking something with alcohol in it. Rooting for Ohio State. Through the years churches have debated whether these things should be done or not. The only one we know for sure that is wrong is rooting for Ohio State. Just kidding OSU fans.

The goal is not to answer these questions for us but to simply mention that not of these areas have a clear, definitive verse that says not to do so. Some of them have Biblical principles that you could certainly apply to some of the them. But we seem to get really passionate about certain areas that my be “gray areas,” even as we intentionally give in to clear commandments.

For instance, you may have strong feelings about how a person should dress in church while at the same time gossiping about a person who doesn’t dress as you think they should. Gossip is clearly forbidden in Scripture but you’d be hard-pressed to find a verse that tells you what to wear to church. This was part of the issue with the religious establishment Jesus was dealing with in today’s passage.

Jesus told them, “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” (v. 8). In other words, you are really committed to man’s traditions instead of what clearly God’s Word teaches. And Jesus used family as an example. Scripture clearly teaches that we are to honor our parents but the religious leaders had developed traditions (or add-ons to the Law) that actually contradicted them honoring their parents.

Jesus made it pretty clear what the greatest commandment was, and really what all commandments come down to. In Matthew 22:37-40 He said, “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ‘ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Love is the greatest commandment.

It’s ok to have preferences. We just have to be careful that we don’t teach them as Biblical mandates for others. And we have to be careful that we don’t violate the greatest commandment, love, in the pursuit of our preferences. God’s Word is given to help us love Him and others better. It’s probably a good idea to remind ourselves of that the next time we go to study God’s Word. The goal is not to prove a preference, the goal of God’s Word is to pursue love with God and others.

Prayer:

What are some preferences you have in your life? Take time to ask God if they are rooted in Biblical truth. Take time to ask God to show you ways that you can be more loving to those around you.