A oft-said remark by fellow Christians
with regard to one’s sharing about problems in life is to trust God and not to
worry. If there is any passage that is quoted, it would be Matthew
6:25-34. Some Christians might even
press on the point that it is a command by Jesus not to worry (eg: see this relevant
magazine article).
Just at church this morning, the pastor was giving a sermon in which he said
that lack of trust in God is in part due to one’s sinful nature.
I have several thoughts about this
Christian rhetoric. For one, I am not sure what it means to trust in God. Trust
in God for what? For his providence? That things will be smooth-sailing? That
ultimately, everything works towards good? But how does a Christian concile
this trust in God for his goodness with the bad things that happens in the
world, whether it is to people around them, or to themselves? Should he go away
consoling himself that things could be worse? And if bad things can happen to
one who trust in God, then what is the subject matter to which one should trust
God in? Surely it can’t be then that one should trust in God to prevent bad
things from happening to him or her, because there are fair well too many
examples where such bad things indeed happen to good people.
I have settled with the answer that
trust in God simply means trust in his will for ultimate goodness, no matter
how ambiguous or enigmatic such notion of good may seem. However, does this
mean that one should suspend his or her reasoning faculties, or capacity for
evaluation when it comes to determining whether good or bad is indeed resulting
in his or her life? I have always found it inconsistent that some Christians
would say that one should suspend one’s evaluation of God’s goodness, but give
thanks for perceived goods that they have received from God. How can you give
thanks for something good if you are suspending your evaluation of whether it
is good or not? A half-way house approach to this would be to not dismiss the
use of such rational faculties in evaluating God, but to acknowledge that there
are limits to how such faculties can be used to appraise God. After all, evaluations
are subjective, and may be incorrect.
Secondly, what does trust in God entail?
A fellow Christian I know would go so far as to suggest that making decisions
or personal planning is contradictory to putting one’s trust in God. For him,
as far as possible, one should rely on the promptings or direct revelation of
God. A moderate like me would try to concile the function of personal planning
and decision making as the responsible use of the intellectual faculties that
we have been endowed with as human beings. But I have been countered before
with the reply that if one makes his or her own decision, one has only oneself
to blame if things go wrong for him or her. The mantra is that it is either God’s
way, or your wrong way.
One problem I have with such an approach
is that I don’t think most Christians actually receive instruction from God in
managing their personal affairs. And even if God is speaking, it is usually
very subtle, and might be difficult for the individual to discern correctly
what is being said, or that it comes from him. I have learnt to keep this
reservation of mine more discreet when talking to a “hyper-spiritual”
Christian, because I know that saying out this reservation would only invite
the sort of condescending perception that I must be some lower-spiritual
Christian or even not a Christian at all, thereby not being able to discern God’s
instructions.
I am not sure whether it is possible to
still adhere by the instruction not to worry, yet deal with the pressure of
problems and decision making. I am not sure how to circumvent this problem in
trying not to worry as much as I do. There is always the lingering worry that I
can be remiss or wrong in my decision making, and face more troubles. And I don’t
think being told that I should trust God and not worry sound sensitive or
understanding in any manner.
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