Grey Areas: They Can Test Your Heart
How to Move When the Steps Aren’t Perfectly Clear
As Christians, we are given the gift of God’s Word to help us process our next steps. There are many things in the Bible are made perfectly clear to us. These rules aren’t given to us by God to make life tedious or difficult; rather, they provide the freedom to move inside and outside of the lines with clarity. But - what do we do when we find ourselves in a situation that is not explicitly addressed in Scripture? This is a challenge that I and many leaders have wrestled with. Let’s review a well-known example to learn from together.
Throughout His ministry, Jesus was often confronted with difficult questions. Instead of offering simple, black-and-white answers, He would appeal to our hearts. After all, our hearts are what God is ultimately after. One example of this is found in Mark 12, where the Pharisees attempt to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes:
“Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” (Mark 12:14-17)
What an amazing perspective. However, a question that arises in our modern day may be this: What exactly belongs to Caesar, and what belongs to God? One common example among Christians is the principle of tithing. The Bible teaches that the first 10% of our income or produce is holy and consecrated to the Lord. Now here’s the modern predicament: should off of our gross income or our net income?
Jesus does not make this distinction. The answer is unclear.
If God has left out a detail, then perhaps the detail itself is not the issue He cares to specify. Instead, God desires our hearts. Only we know what is truly leading and mastering our hearts—though God knows too.
When we face these unclear situations that lack perfect guidance, we should reflect on God’s Word, learn from the examples of others, and, most importantly, search our hearts. Is our decision drawing us closer to the Lord? Are we becoming more of a light for others? If the answers to those questions are yes, just continue walking with God, trusting Him even when full clarity is out of reach.
-Mark
