Is the Bible any help in deciding whether or not to eat meat? Yes of course, says one with certainty: God gave Noah permission to eat the flesh of animals. And Paul says you can consume anything that comes from the meat market. Not really, says the other with less certainty: in paradise, people were vegetarians. And eating meat today is different from in times past. The Bible isn’t really that helpful.

The question whether or not to eat meat is one of the many practical choices that Christians are faced with. In our day particularly, it is important to reflect on how the Bible helps us with choices such as these. How does the Bible show us the way? For in the so-called ‘orthodox’ churches a tension is growing between two opposing poles. To identify them, I’ll use two terms: the ‘absolutists’ and the ‘relativists’.

Two Poles⤒🔗

To those who are absolutists, the Bible is clear. Practical questions can be resolved by means of information from Scripture. If you want answers to questions about the use of Sunday, choice of occupation, political alignment, homosexuality, vegetarianism or whatever, then search the Bible for all the texts that directly or indirectly address the issue. The commandments must especially be taken into account: the Law of God, the Sermon on the Mount, and the instructions of the apostles. Put all these on the table, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and then fit the pieces together by rational deduction. One single picture will appear, a definite Biblical position.

At the other pole, the relativists no longer believe in this approach. Does the Bible really have anything to say about our political views? Do Bible texts about homosexuality or eating meat still provide answers to present-day questions? With the same set of Bible facts one could quite easily construct two rather different pictures. For instance, in the discussion about Sunday, two different perspectives can each arrive at reasonably coherent conclusions. Apparently, the Bible gives scope to move in different directions. The choice you make will be influenced in part by other factors: tradition, personal preference, fear, your peer group. If, on reflection, it really isn’t so clear after all, then there will have to be tolerance in the church for a diversity of opinions and practices. And that’s just what is happening: think, for instance, of issues concerning homosexuality.

At present, the relativists seem to have the upper hand. This in turn leads the absolutists to harden their position. The two extremes reinforce one other. And so the tension grows.

Spirituality←⤒🔗

As I see it, both the absolutists and the relativists could do something with the title of this article: appreciate the wisdom of the Bible.

Are you a relativist, finding yourself somewhere near the second pole? Then give thought to this expression: appreciate the wisdom of the Bible. Often, relativists get hung up on a problem. They prefer to emphasize that what the Bible says is all rather more complicated, rather less straightforward, than we had always thought. Their expectations of the Bible diminish. Many Christians today no longer accept a ‘command ethic’. Unfortunately, whatever takes its place is not much help when it comes to making practical choices. Working with the Bible becomes a rather discouraging business.

The Bible itself, however, breathes a completely different spirit. Psalm 119 tells us that in an uncertain existence, the Bible shows the way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. (v. 105); Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge (v. 54). The Psalmist seems almost to have fallen in love with the Word of God: Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law (v. 18). He is happy to have the Bible; he appreciates its wisdom. If all you can do is sigh despondently, “Isn’t it difficult, applying the Bible to everyday situations?”, you stand in your own way, and in the way of others. The Bible will only ‘work’ if you have a different spiritual attitude. It only opens itself to a spirituality of keen expectation.

User’s Manual←⤒🔗

However, the absolutists, the ones who gather around the other pole, also need to hear the same message: appreciate the wisdom of the Bible. They regard the Bible as an ethical ‘user’s manual’. Do you have a problem? Then find a specific instruction that will tell you what to do, or what not to do. And, in truth, such instructions can be found in the Bible. I do not go along with the fashionable dismissal of a ‘command ethic’, or with the mental laziness that so easily sets aside clear inferences drawn from what Scripture says. The apostles, too, gave clear and specific instructions, often based on cogent logical deductions. Perhaps our times need rather more of that. We tend to be much too hasty and careless in saying, “Well, that’s what I think”, and not at all willing to be persuaded to think otherwise.

Having said that, it’s important to realize that the Bible, actually has something else in mind. By now, we’ve become accustomed to the view that the Bible is no textbook or handbook on science, history or psychology. In these fields of knowledge, you cannot take mental shortcuts, using the Bible out of context to draw all kinds of conclusions. Perhaps we ought to say the same thing a little more often about ethics and practical life choices. The Bible isn’t just a ‘user’s manual’ or handbook. The Bible wants to make us wise (2 Timothy 3:15).

Equipped with this wisdom, and before the face of God, we are called to find our way and to make practical choices. A lamp to our feet spreads light, but it does so to enable us to see our surroundings better. We need to do more than just light that lamp. In the light of that lamp, we need to learn to see the world differently. That allows us to walk in the fields of wisdom. And wisdom is more than simply following a manual of instructions.

Animals←⤒🔗

The Bible, then, tells us about God and what He has done, about His plan for the world and His purpose for our lives. The Bible also models what happens when we use that knowledge in practical situations. Prophets did that in Israel, and apostles did the same within the congregations. Working with the Biblical model helps us to see the world more clearly, so that we can understand what is really happening in all kinds of practical situations. That will lead us to recognize what fits and what does not fit with God and His intentions.

On the matter of homosexuality, for instance, the first thing is not to ask which specific instructions can be found in the Bible, and then to consider whether or not they are still ‘valid’ today. This whole endlessly exhausting question about ‘validity’ is completely out of place. It has its origin in a reaction, as the mirror image of a simplistic application of the Bible. If it is wisdom you are seeking, you will see that every word of Scripture is valid.

Homosexuality must first be approached and understood from a knowledge of God and His works. The key question will be: how does this aspect of life best fit with God and His purpose? And then any directly normative statements in Scripture will have to be given their full due. Another example: you will not find specific injunctions in Scripture for any reflection on climate change. But it makes a very real difference whether you operate from a closed worldview, or whether you acknowledge that God will judge and renew all things.

To eat or not to eat meat should not depend on gymnastics with texts that in some way refer to the use of meat. Rather, we will have to learn to think Biblically about animals, about social justice, about the global economy, and about the options for Christians in a world that is estranged from God. And that is why the Psalmist may continue to meditate on God’s decrees (Ps 119:48). For in each command a whole field of life opens to view, a field in which we may live together with God. No instruction manuals, then, but guides to wisdom.

Interested←⤒🔗

This wisdom brings us back to our first position as people in God’s creation. God didn’t give Adam detailed instructions about everything. Adam had the freedom to choose for himself a name that suited each animal. God was interested in what came out of that. Adam could make his own observations, draw his own conclusions, and exercise his own choices. And he was able do those things because he knew God and His works, because the LORD God had initiated him into His plans and purposes for His creation. Every evening, God and Adam shared an intimacy: consultation between beloved friends! Besides, Adam was ideally positioned for his task: his attitude and his character perfectly mirrored the glory of God.

Could God, then, give Adam direct instructions? Of course He could, and He did, too! Since God is our Creator, since He has all authority and all knowledge, submitting to Him is not beneath our dignity as adult human beings. And yet, Adam’s relationship with the Word of God was not one of simply following a set of instructions. In the first place, he discovered in God’s Word the wisdom to find for himself the best way forward in all kinds of practical situations.

Adult←⤒🔗

This kind of adulthood has been restored to us. But only if we become one with Christ, the last Adam. In 1 Corinthians 2, Christ is revealed to us as the wisdom of God and the power of God. In His Word, God communicates Christ to us. And when, in dealing with everyday questions, I open my Bible, this is what happens first of all. The Spirit of God carries Christ into my life and into my situation. In unity with Him I find power and wisdom.

In this way, we once again comprehend who God is and what He has done. We are given insight into His plans, and develop an affinity with His purposes. We begin to observe as Christ observes, to think as Christ thinks. His character and attitude grow and become part of us. We have the mind of Christ, says Paul (1 Corinthians 2:16).

It is in this way that the Bible helps us to make practical choices. Yes, with specific details and direct instructions, but primarily through the ‘inner man’. God re-creates us, in Christ, into spiritual maturity. We receive something of what Adam had: people after God’s heart, reflecting His glory (2 Timothy 3:15, 16).

Both the absolutists and the relativists often overlook this. Without this maturity and wisdom in Christ the areas of tension will only continue to grow. Either we will buttress our position with oversimplified applications of commands and rational deductions. Or we will relativize everything to death, to the point where Scripture leaves us with no answers at all.

Adolescent←⤒🔗

This kind of maturity is different from our typical Western autonomy. It is not something that every individual, in principle at least, has at his disposal. Our unity with Christ is still far from complete. In ourselves we are not really mature yet. And that is why we still need to take advantage of the methods of instruction God used with his not-yet-mature Old Testament people. At that time, God set out His wisdom in a great number of detailed regulations and external supports. While still growing to maturity, and with our old self still so active, these supports continue to be very useful.

When finding our way, starting with Scripture, it may be helpful to find support in traditions, in the example of fellow Christians, in parental rules and the spiritual authority of leaders in the church. But only as one possible approach, and not as the only possible answer. Who knows, we might someday find a better way to do justice to God’s intentions. Anyone who is too hasty in trying to work everything out for himself is usually not adult but adolescent.

And there is one more thing. Maturity in Christ is only possible in communion with the fellowship of believers. It is never individual. Ephesians 4:1-16 describes this maturity in Christ as characteristic of the one growing body with its broad variety of gifts. Whenever we find our way in day-to-day life, starting with Scripture, we do so in communion with the church, and using the gifts of fellow Christians.

Brainstorm and Concentration←⤒🔗

Within this framework, the Bible is there to be consulted when dealing with specific, real-life questions.

To begin with, make sure that you are as well informed as possible about the issue. Make sure you get your facts right about the eating of meat, about homosexuality, about the variety of occupations, or about the opportunities offered by the modern media. And this ought not just to be theoretical or scientific knowledge: pay attention to real-life stories and experiences. Then to this knowledge apply the wisdom that you, together with your congregation, have built up from the Bible. Try to fathom this practical issue by means of your knowledge of God and His work. Evaluate what fits best with God’s purposes. Take the time to immerse yourself in Scripture, in its breadth and in its depth.

Brainstorm as broadly as you can whatever may have some relevance to your issue. Gather all the pieces of the puzzle. Do not limit yourself to Bible texts that directly concern your problem; do not look only for texts that may even give an explicit instruction. Often, you will not find such texts. Record the important Biblical principles that may in some way be related to your problem. Pay special attention to examples and illustrations in Scripture, in which you may recognize aspects of your problem. Such pieces need to be turned this way and that to see whether they really are useful, whether they really do fit. Where possible, put them together into a coherent and credible solution.

Also, practise a concentrated study of just one part of Scripture. Think of the way a minister works. With all kinds of practical situations in the back of his mind, he concentrates on the one text that he will be preaching on the following Sunday. That’s when there will often be a surprising insight. At first sight, the text may seem to have nothing to do with the matter in question. Even a brainstorm might not have caught your attention. And yet, in the light of everyday situations, you may discover a connection that does point in a certain direction. By way of example, that happened to me when my study of Matthew 7 – the passage about the builders of the two houses – unexpectedly helped me to see that it is possible to live realistically and in hope when faced with climate change and rising sea levels.

This regular concentration on one Scripture passage will by no means always lead to practical insights. But in its depth, the wisdom of Christ will grow in you. And more than once, God will surprise you with the bright glow of lamplight along a dark stretch of life’s pathway.

Whoever thus searches out his way in everyday life will truly appreciate the wisdom of the Bible!