The Wrong Question

As Christians, it seems like we have a tendency to ask the wrong question when it comes to making decisions about what we are or are not going to do. The question we tend to ask is "What's wrong with ...?" The question hinges on a central attitude. This attitude says, in essence, "I want to do as much of what I want to do as I can. Where are the limits?" Take, as an example, the problem of television. Now, I suspect that many readers will find that the moment I use the phrase "the problem of television", their defenses will come up. And what will be the first question that we ask, almost without thinking? "What's wrong with television?"

The truth is that there are answers to that question. We are all aware, I'm pretty sure, of the problem of the message. The television medium is primarily controlled by sinful people with sinful intentions. They are not going to be furthering the purposes of God; they are promoting sin. Thus, standard television content includes sins of all types presented as "normal". Further, any depiction of Christian values is generally in mocking, derisive terms. "Oh," you assure me, "I can avoid the error of the message by either not watching that stuff or by properly filtering, examining, and rejecting it." Well, that's fine, but there is a further difficulty. The medium itself is its own problem. It is designed as entertainment in half hour increments with limited depth of content and interspersed advertisements. By its nature it cannot give depth, exposition, careful analysis. It offers skewed perceptions that life is easily solvable, that reality is short bursts, and, most of all, that amusement is the most important thing. So devastating is this medium that many churches have felt the need to drop serious preaching and conform their gathering for worship to brief, pithy entertainment. Further, television divides rather than unites. That is, while you may choose to all sit in the room and watch the show together, it is highly preferable that you all remain quiet so as not to interrupt the show. That's hardly "family time", even though many of us may call it just that. I recently heard someone giving their evaluation of a TV show they were discussing. "That's two hours of my life I'll never get back," he said. Another problem, then. Wasted time. All of this without considering the physical impact. There is the problem of obesity, aggravated by the fact that we sit motionless in front of a screen, apparently glued in place. There is the problem of wear on the eyes that seem to need their own exercise of focusing on distant and near objects, short-circuited by the monolithic device we watch. (Still think TV has no negatives? How about the government now moving to delay the changeover to digital because some people might lose their signal? When did television become a need? I even read a phrase I cannot as yet decipher: "lifeline TV service".) And this is just the tip of the iceberg. What's wrong with TV? Lots!

My original point, though, is that we're asking the wrong question. If it is true that the primary, God-given purpose of human beings is to glorify God, then "What's wrong with it?" is the wrong question. The right question is "What's right with it?" More precisely, "How does this (whatever it is) help me in my purpose of glorifying God?" Take television, then. How does my watching television assist me in bringing glory to God? I'm stumped with that one. (When I thought about "What would I do if I turned off the TV and sought to do something to glorify God?", I thought about maybe going to the neighbors to share the Gospel. You know, it's likely they wouldn't appreciate that so much because I'd be interrupting their favorite show. You see, TV divides, not unites.) It is very difficult for me to come up with the remotest possibility of how we Christians can watch TV to the glory of God.

Television is only a singular example. Life goes on. We can debate "What's wrong with drinking alcohol ... you know, if you don't get drunk?", but the real question should be "How does limited alcohol intake help me to glorify God?" We can argue about "Does the Bible really forbid smoking?", but the real question must be "In what way does smoking glorify God?" The question, in fact, ought to be applied to everything I do.

As Christians, we're well aware of the problem of sin. We know that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." It is, I fear, a bit short-sighted to stop there. The accusation in Romans 3, for instance, is much broader. "'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one'" (Rom 3:10-12). We have in this diatribe the problem of sin. "All have turned aside." Sure. But there is so much more. Righteousness is not merely the avoidance of sin; it's doing what is right. Understanding is not merely knowledge of what's wrong; it's positive understanding of what's right. The accusation is "No one does good." We aren't merely commanded to avoid sinning. We are commanded to glorify God in all that we do.

When we start asking, "How does what I am doing glorify God?", it changes things. If the thing is sin, it cuts it out entirely. If the thing is morally neutral, it clarifies. (It is, for instance, possible to do some things with the motive of glorifying God or not. If the motive is to glorify God, it's positive. If it is self-interest, then it's not.) Some things are even "morally positive." As an example, a man may love his wife (obviously a good thing) to avoid sin (wrong motive), to make her happy (wrong motive), or to glorify God (the only right motive). Finally, when we come at life's choices with the intent to glorify God, it tends to provide clarity of direction. Avoiding sin is simply a small part of that direction. Glorifying God, on the other hand, gives purpose, power, and joy. There might be some benefit in answering, "What's wrong with that?" I think that the better question is "What's right with that?" It will send us in positive directions, assist us in making Jesus Lord of our lives (rather than trying to live at the minimum), and aim us at God's intended purpose for our lives -- glorifying Him.