Finding God in the Grey Area
““For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.”
I made a bad decision recently. If I’m honest, it was a series of bad decisions. At each point, it was a small decision that didn’t feel so significant. Until it was. And I was left wondering how I could have strayed so far from the truth. I wonder if you’ve been there too. Sin is rarely a standalone event. Have you ever noticed that?
One of the challenges of sin is that we fall out of alignment with what we know to be true. Perhaps you’ve heard the term cognitive dissonance. It’s something that comes up in therapy when a person’s values or beliefs are out of line with their behaviors and actions. For example, a person who values honesty starts lying to their friends and family. They purport to value one thing but then live their life in a way that goes against this value.
Over time, this kind of tension can lead to more serious questions about identity. In some cases, people might find ways to adjust their beliefs or to justify their own inconsistencies. It’s tempting in these moments to turn off the gentle conviction of the Father. We rarely seek wisdom in times of sin. That’s intentional too because we know that if we took a moment to really seek after the heart of God, he’d likely ask us to do something to that we don’t want to do. We prefer to live in the grey area, where we can act a fool and then pray for the blessings of the Lord.
I’ve noticed that the devil loves the grey area. He loves those spaces between wrong and right and black and white. He likes when we’re confused or unsure about God’s plan or about God’s goodness. He thrives in our moments of sin and weakness.
But God is in the grey too. He’ll never leave us guessing. In fact, if there is anything that I am sure of, it’s that God will always respond to us when we ask for his guidance and his wisdom. I think Godly wisdom is what separates us from living like the world lives.
Consider this scripture from Proverbs:
“Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,
She raises her voice in the public square;
On top of the wall she cries out,
At the city gate she makes her speech.” 1:20-21
Wisdom doesn’t whisper. She calls aloud. She raises her voice. She cries from the top of the wall.
I love this image because it reminds us that if we want to live a life of wisdom, wisdom is available and accessible to us.
The Lord knows that there will be competing voices. He knows that the world will present us with lies, but more importantly, he knows the world will present us with almost-truths, so close to the actual truth that we almost miss out on God’s best for our lives.
Foolishness likes to indulge in the temporal. Wisdom waits on the Lord.
If you’re lacking in wisdom, look no further, my friend.
James 1:5 tells us that,
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
Perhaps you’re caught in a trap of sin, and you’ve convinced yourself that it’s not so bad. Perhaps it’s a sin in the grey, and you could make a good argument for why it’s okay. You could almost believe it’s not causing you harm. But it is. And it will.
More than that, and of this I am sure, God’s plan is better.
