In walking 10,000 steps, I am required to walk much further than my wife who is about a foot shorter in height. On the other hand, if we walk together for 30 minutes, she is required to take many more steps to keep up and finish together. Perspective makes a difference.

This is one reason why life can feel so complicated. Things do not always fall into place as we desire. Sometimes, there are divergent viewpoints to be taken into consideration. “There is my way and there is the wrong way”, though spoken in jest, is often an accurate reflection of the way we feel when we measure things from a strictly self-centered point of view.

But, we do not determine what is right and wrong. Nor is it within “man who walks to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23). A self-directed moral compass leads to disaster. Solomon observed, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 14:12). Insisting on our own way results in moral anarchy—not only the blurring of the line between right and wrong, but obliterating the line all together. Strong is God’s condemnation upon those “who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness…” (Isa. 5:20). The cause for such is identified in the verse that follows: they “are wise in their own eyes” and “clever in their own sight!” Sadly, they have “rejected the law of the Lord” (vs. 24).

This is significant because, while we do not determine what is right and wrong, we must recognize that moral values come from God. His word illuminates the path we should follow (Psa. 119:105). His Son is the only way to the Father (Jn. 14:6). We will ultimately stand before Jesus and be judged in accordance with His inspired word (Jn. 12:48).

Unity in the church is based on the authority of Jesus Christ. We do not determine God’s plan for Christ’s church. Instead, we recognize Jesus as the head of the church which is His body (Col. 1:18). Therefore, the church is not a legislative body determining what is right and wrong for its members. No, the church is comprised of those who prove themselves to be “doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (Jas. 1:22). While we do not determine religious authority, we must unite under the authority which belongs to Christ and, thereby, “be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment’ (1 Cor. 1:10). This is the perspective for unity in Christ and in His church.

–Glen Elliott–