What is the fallacy in the modern approach to decision making? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.
I’m taking a brief break from the book of the Hayses to write about something else. Many readers know I have long been critical of approaches on hearing the voice of God as a normative practice. I was recently doing some reading of Blackaby and just really thought out the process that the Blackaby family uses and seeing the problems.
Note that this is a criticism of the methodology. It is not a criticism as people of those who practice this. I remain convinced that they think that they are being biblical and that they are helping people strengthen their relationship with God. I am sure we would all agree we want people to make wise decisions.
So here is the way it normally works out under what I will call the Blackaby Method. (BM)
1. Person has a strong sense, impression, feeling.
2. That is God speaking to them.
3. That person acts on that.
4. Positive result comes at the end.
Okay. #1 is indisputable. No one is denying that a person has a strong sense, impression, or feeling to do something. It can also not be denied that the person is acting on whatever that is. Finally, the cases presented are at least cases of what is perceived to be a good result.
Here’s one of the big problems. The methodology is shown to be true because #1 happens and yet it is implicitly assumed that #2 is true. If a person feels a strong sense to do something and they do it and they get a good result, then that was God acting on them.
The problem is that we can have strong senses (I will be saying this rather than listing all three from now on) on a various number of issues for a various number of means. I remember hearing about someone talking to a Mormon about their claim on the Book of Mormon being true because of a strong sense saying “Do you want your wife to act on those strong senses during that time of the month? That quickly got a no out of them.
Let’s consider another example many of us have. Falling in love. There is actually a name for this feeling called limerence. When we have it happen, all we do is think about the beloved for a time and have a hard time focusing on anything else. C.S. Lewis said it is a good thing that this feeling doesn’t last forever or else we would never get anything done.
Unfortunately, many people enter marriages based on that feeling and then when the feeling fades, they have trouble. When they meet someone else who gives them that feeling anew, they think that this must be the real thing. Unfortunately, this can also become a neverending cycle as the limerence DOES eventually fade.
I often get emails from people who are convinced they have committed the unpardonable sin. What do they base it on? A strong sense. They think that God is judging them and condemning them and that is based on their feelings. I take them back to Scripture and show that the fact that they care about being holy before God shows that God is still at work in their lives. We also then discuss what the unpardonable sin really is. To this day, I have not encountered one person through this who I think has committed that sin, and based on my understanding of it, I don’t think I ever will.
I happen to struggle with anxiety ever since my divorce and take medication to deal with it, but I know when anxiety has struck me strongly in the past, it’s hard to focus on anything else. I have had therapy sessions since coming here when I say “Yeah. I was greatly anxious on Thursday. Now, I can’t even really remember what it was about.”
Has it ever occurred to some of you who hold to BM that perhaps the strong sense you experience is not God, but maybe it’s just your own thinking as well based on your understanding of Scripture? Maybe you are using observation skills and thinking “That person looks like they need someone to talk to” and go over and talk to them. Does this take away from God? Not at all. You are still following biblical wisdom and trying to do what God commands.
Let’s look at BM in another way.
1. A person has a strong sense that the Book of Mormon is true.
2. That strong sense is from God.
3. That person acts on that belief and joins the Mormon church.
4. Thus, a good result has occurred.
A Mormon would hold to all of these. A Christian like myself would say that that is not the case. Someone joining the Mormon church is not good but rather a breaking away from Christianity.
So let’s look at #4 that is in common and the idea that a good result occurs. One problem with BM examples is that only positive ones are mentioned. There are probably several cases when people were following BM and they turn out to be wrong and those do not get recorded. To know if a methodology works, you need to look at as many examples as you can of when it was followed, not just the positive ones. If you read a Blackaby book or anyone else teaching this, you will only get the positive results which in turn are shown to demonstrate the BM is true.
It’s interesting the Mormon test to see if the Book of Mormon is true works the exact same way. If you don’t get the positive result, well the problem is you. You weren’t sincere. You weren’t really paying attention. If you do get the result they want, then that proves that the test is true. Either way, the Mormon method cannot be wrong.
Scripture is also full of people who do follow the will of God and do NOT have positive results, at least immediately. Yes. We will all have the resurrection and live eternally in glory, but short-term, we can have suffering. Hebrews 11 lists several people who had great faith and then to balance it out, the writer lists several people who underwent great suffering. Following the will of God will not always produce immediate good results for people. Being faithful can lead to great pain and suffering.
Some of you might be wondering that if you aren’t making decisions based on what you feel like God is telling you, what are you basing it on? Simple. Scripture and wisdom that God gives us all. Scripture is the ultimate authority that is infallible, but wisdom also gives us good sense for making wise decisions.
If someone asked me where my call comes from, I point to Matthew 28:18-20. We are to go into all the world making disciples. What more is needed? After that, I point to desire, ability, and opportunity. Do I have a strong desire to do this work? Do I have the ability? Do I have the chance? I have met enough pastors in my time who have a strong “Call to preach”, but are horrible preachers and do not understand Christianity.
Not everyone will go into a ministerial field, and thank God for that! Some people can be really excited and enthusiastic about something like plumbing. You and I might think “Why would someone want to learn how a toilet works?” It might not make much sense to us, but when we have our toilet suddenly start overflowing, we sure will be thankful someone had that passion.
So many goods in your life come because someone had desire, ability, and opportunity. It is the technology you use, the food you eat, the place you live in, etc. It is good some people care about making shoes. it is good some people care about building planes, trains, and automobiles. Many of us are passionate about books, but some people had to be passionate also about how to put a book together, not just writing a book, but making covers and pages and the process behind it.
Also, none of this is to steal a relationship with God from you. God has revealed Himself best in Scripture and the person of Jesus. The idea that God is revealing Himself to you through senses encourages you to look within to find God ultimately, which is not really a good idea. My approach tells you to look without, at general revelation and at special revelation revealed in Christ and Scripture.
Again, none of this is against people who follow this. It is saying that I consider this approach in the end dangerous and will lead people away from Scripture in the long run. The Bible has much to say about wisdom and making wise decisions. We should listen to it.
In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)
Support Deeper Waters on Patreon!
