Again on the t-shirt…
In a previous post, I referenced a t-shirt that had the slogan “LIFE WOULD BE SO EASY IF EVERYONE READ THE MANUAL”. I appreciate those who commented on that post and I finally want to get around to evaluating/correcting some of the assumptions behind that slogan. See what you think and then feel free to add your own thoughts in the comment section…
Life is not supposed to be easy - The hardships and struggles in life are there because God wants them to be. He planned it that way. He wants us to be molded and shaped in a certain way and to find our need met in Him. In the end, scriptures do not provide a way out of hardship but point a way through it.
The Bible is not a manual - The Bible was not, is not, and never will be a “manual” for curing what ails ya. We want steps to follow to have a good marriage, solid finances, and well-behaved kids so we plug the right search phrase into our handy Bible software and get our list of things we need to do speedy-quick. Only we forgot that those so-called principles we are now trying to follow cannot be divorced from the Gospel of Christ. In fact, doing so can only produce an empty moralism which insulates against the need for Christ.
We don’t always get the results we want - When you get into the mindset of “following the manual” it’s easy to fall into a mechanistic way of dealing with life. This goes beyond expecting things to be “easy”. If we do the right spiritual disciplines we expect spiritual blessings. If we “train” our kids right we expect they won’t leave the church. Put your quarter in - out comes your candy bar. But doing step A is no guarantee that result B will come about. In fact, to think so belies a superficial understanding of Christianity entails. Sure, there are benefits but not of the type that guarantee your comfort or a specified outcome.
That was a little bit of a rant so thanks for listening. Comments and additions welcome.
