Watch Out for Creep of Narrow-mindedness

This is part of in a series of blogs on the Application of God’s Armor.

As we each follow our individual lordship journey, we should see signs of spiritual growth and increasing leaps of faith. This demonstrates our growing commitment to follow Jesus Christ in all areas of our life. However, along the way we could be gradually led down deceptive paths that hinder our growth if we don’t see the warning signs. These deceptive paths can creep up on us slowly over time taking small steps at first and then growing into larger diversions. This creep usually results from human ideas and tendencies that manifest themselves in two extremes: narrow-mindedness and its opposite broad-mindedness.

Let’s look first at narrow-mindedness. For Christians this is often called legalism. For the world we live in this is often called intolerance. Most people are familiar with these terms. Examples are discussed frequently and passionately in the pervasive media we all share. So, my intention here is not focused on pointing fingers at anyone. I simply wish to prompt the reader to consider how narrow-mindedness could creep into their own lordship journey. Knowing the warning signs will help get back on the path that God wants for each of us.

I start by describing a similar problem I experienced as an engineer. Then I use this problem to illustrate the ramifications of narrow-mindedness for believers in Jesus Christ.

In my engineering career I observed a tendency to over specify product requirements; we often called it “requirement creep”. To understand why this was a problem think of a product you like. Why do you like it? Most likely it performs one or more functions that you want in the way that you like. For example, a non-stick pan that you can cook eggs without the eggs sticking to the pan. If you own a business and want to make and sell non-stick pans, you will survey your potential customers to understand what they want; the requirements. For simplicity, I give just two basic requirements: first eggs must not stick to the pan when cooking, and second the pan must be affordable to the consumer.

Now let’s go to the engineers at your company and tell them to design and manufacture a non-stick pan that meets these two basic requirements. Based on available technologies there may be many different types of material and non-stick coatings that could be selected to make the pan. There are also many different shapes that could be used for handles and the pan itself. The engineers should evaluate and study all these variations in materials, coatings, and shapes to select the optimum design that meets the two stated basic requirements; a good non-stick design for an affordable cost. Since these are the requirements most customers want the resulting non-stick pan optimal design breaks all sales records.

However, let’s say you have some overzealous engineers working for you. They may have biases and passions about what a non-stick pan should be; to be the very best non-stick pan no matter what the cost. They then add requirements to force the design to turn out the way they want it to be. For example, they may specify the exact material and the exact coating to use; eliminating many other viable choices for the design which are less expensive. They also select a shape that is very difficult to manufacture, increasing its product cost. The non-stick pan they make is very nice, but very costly. So, it would not be surprising if only a few consumers, if any, purchased it.

As illustrated in the non-stick pan example, requirement creep is adding requirements that are preferential, but treating them like they are mandatory. In our example there are two mandatory requirements; the two basic requirements. The other requirements are preferential: the specific material, the specific coating, and a specific handle shape. Also, by treating the preferential requirements as mandatory, one of the basic requirements is not satisfied; the resulting non-stick pan design is not affordable.

Preferential requirements should not be treated as mandatory. Instead they should be included in design trade-offs to meet different consumer needs. For example, if some customers want a difficult to make handle design and are willing to pay for it, then a separate line of high-quality non-stick pans could also be produced and sold to that market. Keeping these requirements preferential maximizes flexibility in design decisions that result in the most optimal design solution for each market.

The requirement creep analogy for believers is the tendency to become too legalistic in our Bible interpretation. For example, mandating a specific do or don’t as a standard for every believer when the Bible does not. This may be a preference that some believers accept as their own personal standard. But if they also expect other believers to have the same preferential standard, it is requirement creep and manifests as intolerance. This puts unnecessary burdens on other believers and causes contention and division within the body of Christ. What the non-believing world sees is a bunch of intolerant and unforgiving believers.

Too be clear, I am not advocating tolerance on mandatory requirements. The Bible is God’s Word and His truth is absolute. So, when His truth is clearly stated we must all obey it. But there are many areas where the Lord allows flexibility in each believer; in essence, preferential requirements. In our lordship journey we need to learn how to discern God’s Word to understand the difference between absolute mandatory requirements and preferential requirements; avoiding unnecessary narrow-mindedness. I offer a few examples for your consideration as warning signs.

In Matthew 23 Jesus criticized the religious leaders of his day in many areas. You should read the entire chapter to see why Jesus criticized them. But to give you an idea, in verse 4 Jesus specifically said, “They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.” If we are like these religious leaders, then we have succumbed to the creep of narrow-mindedness.

In 1 Corinthians 12 the Apostle Paul told us that believers have different spiritual gifts, and that the body of Christ has many parts. In verses 12-13 he said, “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.” Each believer is different, but the same Spirit guides each believer to become a specific part in the whole body of Christ. We should let the Spirit guide each believer with their gifts. If instead we expect other believers to have the same gifts we do, or we criticize believers when they have gifts that we do not have, then we have succumbed to the creep of narrow-mindedness.

In 1 Corinthians 13 the Apostle Paul told us that love is the greatest gift that all believers should possess. We must remember that Jesus’ focus is forgiveness so each believer can enter His family; the body of Christ. If we truly understand this then it should be clear that a legalists’ focus is to reject believers from their preferential ‘club’. If we trying to control who can get into our ‘club’, then we have succumbed to the creep of narrow-mindedness.

Likewise, if we desire to use the Bible to prove our position, or to defend our ‘club’, rather than having a desire to hear what the Bible is teaching us through the Holy Spirit, then we have succumbed to the creep of narrow-mindedness.

Believers must guard against requirement creep by using the armor God provides. They must read God’s Word to understand what the real truth is. They must utilize the body of Christ to hold them accountable to obey the real truth. Then the real truth becomes our belt of truth that holds together the body armor of God’s righteousness and keeps the Word of God within reach as our sword of defense. Doing this helps us control the creep of narrow-mindedness; shaken not stirred.

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All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.