Thinking or Acting? September 8, 2014
ProfessorTimothy Wilson ran a study indicating that spending 15 minutes alone with ourthoughts is so difficult that half of people cheat by doing somethingelse. When given the option, half choose to give themselves a painfulelectric shock as a distraction.
What does Jesus call on his followers to be like? Should we be reflective or active?
Let’s look at the context of Galatians 5 which discusses thefruit of the Spirit. Paul is writing about threats to the freedom theGalatians have been given in Christ and points out, “For freedom Christ has setus free.” It seems absurd that Paul even points this out, but he needs tobecause we can miss the obvious and enslave ourselves to legalism or tosin. He calls us instead to think about Jesus, our lives, and some thingsit seems like we couldn’t possibly miss. He uses logic, analogies, puns,and love to help us think through and then act. Thought and action areinseparably tied, not mutually exclusive choices.
Is this approach unique to Paul? In John 17 we read aprayer by Jesus, the perfect, Spirit empowered Son of God, and in that prayerJesus spends a great deal of time reflecting on things. Surely when wepray we should have a similar reflective conversation with God.
Ultimately the Christian good news is a call to reflect onand act on Jesus’ message. Jesus offered life to a wide variety of people–a Samaritan woman with a disastrous personal life; a thoughtless rich youngruler; a rich and immoral tax collector; a thoughtful, influential, and sincerereligious leader. What he always did was call them to hear and believeHis call for repentance and forgiveness. He was hated by the religiouscynics, self-righteous, and convenience oriented because he led them and othersto reflect on the emptiness and evil of these man-made approaches.
The Bible calls us to both thought and action. Reasoned, faithful reflection leads to understanding, belief, and a lovingdetermination to be fruitful in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control