Fin Sheridan

I was talking to a friend last night about a decision she had to make. It wasn’t a black and white decision though; one where there is clearly a right and a wrong answer. Instead, it was more a matter of what felt right for her, whether she felt a conviction from God or whether she was just acting from a place of living up to others expectations.

Life is full of those sort of decisions, or at least mine is. I seem to find myself more often asking “Is this wise?” and “Is this the best thing to do?” rather than “Is this sin?” or “Is this allowed?”. The grey areas are where true sanctification takes place; where we learn to hear God’s voice and move beyond just right and wrong into wiser, godlier decision making.

Anyway, back to my friend. She asked me, “What should I do?” and I didn’t really have an answer for her. I was uncomfortable giving a definitive answer and instead took a screenshot of Colossians 2:16-20.

It says this:

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

So often I can get confused in my decision making with my church traditions, my religious mindsets and I pass judgment on others, just like this verse says. A question I’ve tried to ask more and more is this: Am I promoting shadows or substance? Am I focusing on what is most important, Jesus, or am I focusing on keeping people happy, upholding empty religious practices or just my routine Christianity? Are my decisions substance or shadows?