The clear testimony of Scripture is that it is enough; that it alone equips us “for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Believers don’t require supplemental volumes to deal with new, modern issues and activities about which God’s Word is silent.
Instead, we need to carefully search Scripture for the kinds of eternal principles that will help us navigate life’s gray areas. Over the last few weeks, we’ve been examining many of those principles, trying to develop a biblical mindset for making gray-area decisions.
We considered the principles of edification (Will this activity produce spiritual benefit?), enslavement (Will this activity bring me into bondage?), entanglement (Will this activity build up my spiritual endurance, or will it entangle me in worldly distractions?), esteem (Will this activity benefit others or cause them to stumble?), endangerment (Will this activity train me to ignore my conscience?), and evangelism (Will this activity adorn the gospel or tarnish it?).
There’s a final principle we need to consider—one that summarizes and fulfills all the previous principles. It’s the principle of exaltation. When trying to determine how to behave in life’s gray areas, we must consider how our decisions exalt the Lord. We need to ask, Will this activity bring glory to God?
Paul declared, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). We were created to glorify God and worship Him forever. Because we have been transformed by His grace and transferred into His kingdom, pleasing Him is both our highest aim and our greatest delight (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:9).
Our heart’s cry is to glorify our Lord and Savior with our lives. So when it comes to dealing with gray areas, consider the question, Will God be glorified, praised, and exalted by my decision? We genuinely honor Him when we make choices that are consistent with the principles found in His Word. On the flip side, when we make foolish and sinful choices, our actions dishonor Him. If an activity will glorify God, do it. If it won’t, or if it’s questionable, then do something else.
(Adapted from Right Thinking in a World Gone Wrong.)
