Black and White

A recent post on godwardpassion.blogspot.com touched on the matter of graylings. I encourage those who read this blog to also read Pastor Phil's blogs. In his discussion on graylings Phil pointed out the reality that the Scriptures are essentially black and white. I suspect that such a deep conviction comes from his agreement with the puritian who is reported to have said that he is precise in his theology because he serves a precise God.
Please understand me at this point. There is nothing about Phil's blog that I would change. There is not a point of it that I would disagree with in the least. That comment may cause some concern to brother Siefkes!!! What I want to do in the next few paragraphs is to ponder the problem of not finding gray areas.
Some key observations must be noted before going any further. First, I am not suggesting that the Word of God has gray areas. Neither am I arguing that we should compromise on the truths of Scripture. What I am contending is that humility produces a certain amount of "grayness" in the servant of the Lord.
Let me attempt to illustrate. I suspect that each one of us can think of someone who is nearly a total stranger to compromise. People who just absolutely must have their own way in every thing. Some of these have been men who pretend to shepherd the flock of God while in reality they are ravening wolves who rather than feed the flock feed their own egos. Others have been leaders in local congregations who view themselves as members of a corporate board riding herd over a shepherd rather than servants of God seeking His glory. I also suspect that each of us has looked in the mirror from time to time and seen such a person. In all honesty we who stand so firmly on the Scriptures also have intense feelings about other things as well. Perhaps it is the brand of car you drive, perhaps it is the political party that you identify with, perhaps it is particular college or seminary you affiliate with, perhaps it is your favorite professional sports team. The list can be endless and the issues can range from the serious to the ridiculous.
Lest we all miss the point of this blog let me attempt to conclude it with several observations.
First, it seems to be very evident that while there are some issues that we feel very strongly about we should be very careful to put the Scriptures on the pinnacle and allow nothing else to approach that exalted position. Second, we must keep in mind that while there has been much harm done to the cause of Christ by those who have compromised on the non negotiables there has also been a great deal of damage inflicted by those who been, well "hard headed" about the non essentials.
May God grant us the wisdom to differentiate between the black and white and the gray. May He grant us the grace to be humble and gracious while standing firm on the fundamentals (the true fundamentals not the emotional fundamentals that have at times risen to prominence). May He give to us a humble, teachable spirit that He may be glorified.