Articles
Cautious Optimism
Cautious Optimism
Unfortunately, there’s no way to know in the moment if God is working providentially to fulfill some grand plan for our lives. Aside from knowing He causes all things to work together to make us more like Christ (Romans 8:28), Mordecai’s “Who knows?” (Esther 4:14) and Paul’s “Perhaps” (Philemon 1:15) are the best we can do for now. In the meantime, let’s avoid extremes. One extreme attributes everything to luck, chance, or fortune. Christians might say things like, “I sure am lucky to have found such a Godly spouse,” or “What are the odds I’d land such a good job?” They treat life like a roll of the dice and God like He’s uninvolved.
The other extreme assigns divine significance to everything. It may sound like a sign of great faith, but it’s dangerous because Christians who do this often confuse God’s providence with God’s approval. For instance, I got a call last week from a guy wanting money from the church to support a basketball program he set up to help teach kids the gospel. Unfortunately, he had an inaccurate view of the gospel and the purpose of the church. When I told him the church couldn’t support him, he guilted me, judged me and the church as dispassionate, then pulled out the big guns to get my funds: he said, “Don’t you know there are no accidents Brian? The Holy Spirit put us together on this phone call for a reason. He’s working on your heart to support this work, don’t ignore Him.” Do you see? Since he viewed our phone call as an act of providence, he thought God was approving of his basketball ministry. Who knows? Maybe the Holy Spirit did put us together for a reason; not so I would give him money, but so I could explain to him the dangers of what he was doing — and so I could write this article.
I heard about a Christian man who got unscripturally re-married. As a result, his new wife learned the gospel and became a Christian herself. He said, “See? This marriage was all part of God’s plan!” He assumed God’s providence meant God approved of their marriage. In hindsight, I think it was indeed God’s plan for his wife to learn the gospel. However, once she learned the truth, she dissolved the marriage! Just because God provides despite our sinful choices doesn’t mean He approves those choices.
Mordecai and Paul give us the best approach to providence: cautious optimism! When Mordecai says, “Who knows?” it’s not pessimistic. He’s not throwing up his hands saying, “We might as well assign everything to luck!” It’s a statement laced with hope and optimism! He doesn’t know for sure, but he hopes God is at work here! Same with Paul’s “perhaps”! We may not know if God is acting in His providence in the moment, but we can hope for it, pray for it, look for it, and ask God for the caution not to confuse His providence with His approval.
