• Home
  • Blog: Ministry in Romania
  • Get Some Answers
    • Holy Week Answers
  • Get In Touch
  • Catechism
  • Videos
    • Sermons
  • Newsletters
  • Home
  • Blog: Ministry in Romania
  • Get Some Answers
    • Holy Week Answers
  • Get In Touch
  • Catechism
  • Videos
    • Sermons
  • Newsletters
   

God the Utilitarian?

11/7/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
​I am a utilitirian at heart. I want to fix everything and I want to do everything efficiently. I have found that while utilitarianism can provide some much needed perspective at times, I have also found that I feel a profound tension between the embracing of this view and the throwing off of it. 
​
On the one hand, it seems that being utilitarian is very detrimental in many ways. First, and most obviously, it can be harmful to relationships. Many men share my utilitarian leanings and fail to listen to their wives. Rather than allow their wives to be heard, husbands try to fix problems and end up creating more tension. At the same time, the old saying "the ends justify the means"  - an apt summary of utilitarianism followed through - seems obviously wrong in a universe where objective morals exist. Nobody wants to live in a world where all that  is deemed  right is determined by what works. In such a society, forced euthanasia, infanticide of children with particular disorders, sterilization of certain groups, etc - would not only be enacted, but they would be the reasonable thing to do. 

But at the same time, utilitarianism seems like an absolutely Christian notion to me. In fact, it seems like one of the most Christian conclusions one could ever draw, for when God created, he called his creation very good. It was as he intended.  And when God redeems, it is and will be very good again. God is a God of order and made the world to work. So it seems as though when one finds something working, they have found something good. It is the footprint of our God of order. ​
I am not the only Christian who seems confused by this. There are many Christians out there who betray such utilitarian notions when they argue against homosexuality with statistics that point to negative consequences of such relationships. The Christian assumption is that marriage was meant to be between one man and one woman, so when it's not, it will not function properly. This improper functioning will be proven through a multitude of displayed deficiencies in mental, physical, and relational health. That makes sense to me. If God is orderly and he created marriage, then marriage should work. But the same Christians who cling to utilitarian arguments in regard to sexuality, throw off notions of utilitarianism when it seems all too convenient. If Christianity works, then why do Christians have staggeringly high divorce rates? If Christianity works, why do so many Christians engage in premarital sex? If Christianity works, why do so many churches split and why are there so many denominations? If God is real and wants people to know him, why does he remain so hidden? The list could go on. It seems like a religion that should thrive on utilitarianism falls so short so often. 

As I have been thinking about this upcoming election, I have thought even more about utility and Christianity. I have been asked by a portion of conservative Christianity to cast my vote for the candidate who serves the conservative agenda. It is a call for me to vote in a utilitarian manner. Vote for what will advance the conservative agenda and my comfort. And that's when it struck me. Utilitarianism is most certainly true. What does work is good. What does advance my agenda is good - but with a very important caveat. My agenda will and should be advanced if it is aligned with God's agenda. While Matthew 7 tells us that God will give us every good gift if we just ask, and Matthew 6 tells us to ask and it will be given to us, both of these notions are preceded by the concept of seeking first God's kingdom. It is only when we make God's agenda our agenda that utilitarianism really works. 

Unfortunately, humanity tends to place God's seemingly foolish agenda last. Self-sacrifice, mercy, and humility have never been all that appealing. All Christians understand that we are all fallen, though we all too often only see the outside world as the fallen ones. But if I truly believe that I live in a world where everyone - Christians included - are fallen, then much of what is lacking in Christian utility makes sense. I understand why Christian marriages fail. Two self-centered sinners married each other. I understand why Christians succumb to sexual temptation. Two sinners with God-given sexual appetites mar God's intention and indulge their lusts. See, God's agenda works perfectly, but we spend most of our waking hours superimposing our agenda over his - and calling it "God's agenda."

 It was here that I realized any distaste I had in my mouth for utilitarianism was because utility is defined by the agenda, and so often the determining agenda is not God's. God says to love our neighbors by laying down our lives. We think we do well by agreeing with God that we should love our neighbors, but think that this love is conveyed by heavy handed laws and mandates. God says to bear one another's burdens, and we tell God that we agree with him, but we apply limits to the amount of burden God can expect us to bear. God has commanded us to seek justice for the poor, but we lessen the weighty call we are to meet by saying he only meant for us to help the "deserving poor," not those who are poor of their own making. This is a bastardized version of creation and reality, and only furthers pain and sin. And as Christians seek what works based on their own agenda rather than God's, it pushes away the onlookers who are outside the faith. And who could blame them? Why would anyone want to embrace a religion that so blatantly doesn't work?

Fortunately God has made his agenda very clear. He has shown us what works, not through commands, but through the incarnation. The commands we read and attempt to perpetuate through legislation miss the whole point of God's plan. For the law that was written on stone tablets could never be followed. The law must be written on our hearts - hearts that have been turned from hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. But here we stand, conservatives trying to chisel away at the impenetrable granite faces of deeply entrenched hearts, when it is only the finger of God who can soften a heart of stone to write his decrees upon it. But for these hearts to be changed, they must encounter God face to face on the mountain top. We are a city on the mountain top. We, the church, are where God meets them. His presence is always with us, and our faces should be ever shining to those around us. As we allow God's presence to pervade every aspect of our lives, true utilitarianism will prevail. 

Our God is a God who works. He is utilitarian. That is hard to believe because we spend most of our time judging him by our standards of functionality. He may use foolish means. He may use weak people. He may not gauge success by expediency. But he will bring about his glory. He will accomplish his plans. He will uphold the law. He will judge all of our actions - according to his standards, not ours. 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    *The views and ideas on this site are in no way affiliated with any organization, business, or individuals we are a part of or work with. They're also not theological certainties. They're simply thinking out loud, on issues and difficulties as I process things.

    Categories

    All
    Abortion
    Abortion Counterrebuttals
    Afterlife
    Apologetics
    Atheism
    Atonement
    Baptism
    Christian Life
    Church
    Cosmology
    COVID 19
    COVID-19
    Death
    Free Will
    Generosity And Wealth
    G.K. Chesterton
    Government
    Grace And Mercy
    Incarnation
    Inerrancy
    Joy
    Love
    Materialism
    Meaningpurpose
    Media
    Ministry-and-outreach
    Ministry-and-outreach
    Morality
    On-guard
    Pacifism
    Pacifism-counterrebuttals
    Podcast
    Poetry
    Politics
    Politics-of-jesus
    Pragmatism And Consequentialism
    Prayer
    Problem-of-evil
    Race-and-unity
    Rapid Fire
    Rebellion
    Reformed
    Relationships
    Salvation
    Social-issues
    Social-justice
    Sovereignty-of-god
    Spirit
    Spiritual-warfare
    Spontaneous-expansion-of-the-church
    Suffering
    Tradition
    Trinity
    When-helping-hurts


    Archives

    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    March 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2013
    March 2009
    July 2007
    June 2007
    May 2007
    April 2007
    March 2007
    February 2007
    January 2007

    RESOURCES

    Check out some of our favorite online resources for theology and apologetics by clicking on the images below. 

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly