Is it Wise to be Winging it Spiritually?
Are you loving the Lord, loving scripture, but still ‘winging it spiritually!’ Winging it is all about improvisation, as opposed to planning and preparation. It is playing your role without knowing the text. This might be something that a professional actor might have to do when forced to take on a role they have not practiced. However, in our lives as Christians we are more than actors in a theatrical production, so should we be ‘winging it?’ Is this good or bad theology? And is this the way we should relate to God and his teaching?
Are we Considering God’s Plans?
James warned the believers of the danger of making our plans without considering God’s will in the matter. “Doing our own thing” becomes arrogance when we fail to realize our mortality and God’s will. And the fact that even the best made human plans can go awry, should give us pause when we consider ‘winging it spiritually.’ The biblical narratives teach us these important principles in story form. So are we doing God’s will, God’s way or are winging it the way Jacob did?
Jacob and Esau Winging It Spiritually
The story of Jacob and Esau provides some great examples of the dangers of winging it … even when it might have seemed to be God’s will. For after all, had not Rebecca been told that the elder twin would serve the younger at their birth! Perhaps God would have eventually given Jacob the birthright. But Jacob, catching Esau during a time of weakness negotiates the ‘sale’ of Esau’s birthright for a bowl of soup. Of course eventually Esau regrets having despised his birthright, but the deed had been done. Later, Rebecca helps Jacob ‘pull the wool’ over Isaac so that Jacob also receives the blessing that was the right of the firstborn.
Can’t Avoid Cause and Effect
What was the result of all this ‘winging it spiritually?’ Jacob acquired the birthright and blessing by deception and had to flee for his life, leaving everything he knew and loved behind. This painful rift in the family has never really been healed. Winging it had not been God’s way. Even if it had been the outcome God had predicted or ultimately intended. Jacob had to learn the hard way, in Laban’s household, the pain of betrayal and the hurt caused by duplicity and envy. But he did learn, and the lessons have been recorded for our learning too.
Which Master Do You Serve?
Jesus made it plain that we cannot serve two masters. If we have competing priorities and do not put God’s will first the price will be personal pain. Jesus’ advice was to seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness first. To do this we must know and follow God’s script. The scriptures, God’s text for living, give us true freedom. So we do not end up in unintended situations because we were winging it spiritually. God wants us to live our lives by his script, and love him and our neighbour as ourself.
So are you committing your way to the Lord daily asking him to order your steps? Do you know his word and what he requires of you? If you have been winging it spiritually, do you know how to get back to walking with God? God has created his people to represent him by doing the good works he has prepared for us. It’s time for us to stop stumbling along on our own and let God’s script and his spirit motivate and guide us.