In Chapter 9 of Every Good Endeavor, Pastor Timothy Keller states that the Biblical worldview is unique in that it understands the nature, problem, and salvation of human beings as “fundamentally relational”. Put another way, God created us for a relationship with Him, and that relationship was lost through sin. Yet, through God’s salvation and grace our relationship with Him can be restored.
As philosopher Al Wolters points out in Creation Regained: A Transforming View of the World, we run into problems when we identify some aspect of creation as the problem rather than “the alien intrusion of sin”. He adds that “such an error conceives of the good-evil dichotomy as intrinsic to creation itself . . . something in the good creation is identified as [the source] of evil.”
Indeed, one consequence of our ministry downsizing or career loss is that our Biblical worldview becomes distorted. We need to be intentional in affirming the truth of God’s Word and our understanding of the Gospel. Pastor Keller comments on what happens without a proper understanding of the Gospel:
“Without an understanding of the gospel, we will be either naïvely utopian or cynically disillusioned. We will be demonizing something that isn’t bad enough to explain the mess we are in; and we will be idolizing something that isn’t powerful enough to get us out of it.”
Question: How might Pastor Keller’s comment about demonizing and idolizing help you develop a more balanced perspective on your downsizing or position loss? Please add you thoughts below.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Faith, spirituality, and wisdom”
