Obedience

Hmmm . . . I hate it when one of my comfortable assumptions is challenged and I can't muddle through to a new answer.

I'm having that today as I consider the following verse from Romans 14: 5 "One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind."

This verse is in a passage about not quarreling over opinions on things like whether the Sabbath is holier than any other day or whether or not to eat meat. (By the way, the right answer is, of course we should eat meat; otherwise what's the point of being at the top of the food chain?)

Anyway, this verse suggests that what makes the answer right is whether or not I'm convinced it's right. How can that be? Sometimes I believe things I find out later to be wrong. 

Obviously Paul would not argue that truth is relative, because other parts of scripture clearly state that it is not. Maybe the point here is that God is less concerned about our ability to understand than our desire to obey. If we think He doesn't want us to eat meat, we shouldn't; if we think He does, then we should. God can't both want us to eat meat and want us not to, so one position reflects poor understanding of what God wants. But if both are done out of a sincere desire to obey, then maybe God counts it as obedience anyway.

I'm still not comfortable with the verse, but I think part of what it's telling me is this: Study God's word to come to the best understanding of His will that you can. Then do God's will as you understand it. God might not punish me for my lack of understanding, as long as I tried, but He will be disappointed if I don't try to obey.

In the end, this verse probably should be reassuring. After all, none of us will ever fully understand God. This verse relieves us of the burden of having to. But it also challenges us not to be so dogmatic about our own understanding that we don't allow the possibility the other guy might still be OK with God.

Rats, another comfortable assumption challenged.