Dealing with moral ambiguity as a Christian

Moral decision making is sometimes difficult because there are right and wrong answers to moral questions, and we have to go to the trouble of figuring out what they are, which isn't always easy. Given the difficulty of moral decision making, it's inevitable that we are all going to make mistakes sometimes.

I was thinking about this just now because of an exchange I had with Paul in the comment section of my Divorce and Remarriage post. I made the comment that I thought people were justified in getting a divorce in cases of abuse. But then I got to thinking, "What counts as abuse?" or "How bad does the abuse have to be before you're justified in getting a divorce?" If I'm right that abuse justifies getting a divorce, this doesn't answer those questions. Abuse comes in degrees. On one extreme, it might be a situation in which your spouse puts you in the hospital with broken bones and a concussion. On the other extreme, they might just insult you a little or call you a pejorative name. Between those two extremes are every shade of gray, and it may be impossible to know exactly where to draw the line.

So what is a Christian to do? Well, in my opinion the thing to do is make a judgment call. Ask you friends for their opinion. Solomon said, "Without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed" (Proverbs 15:22). So seek council from people you trust. And take Solomon's advice to seek wisdom and pursue it. This is a life long pursuit.

But what if, in spite of all this, you still suffer from uncertainty? Well, again, make the best judgment call you can with the information and wisdom you have. In cases like these, a Christian does not need to anguish and fret over having made the wrong decision. Your salvation does not depend on your being morally perfect. We are saved by the grace of God. So if, in spite of all your efforts, you make the wrong choice, it isn't game over for you. You should wrestle with difficult moral questions if you have a desire to live a moral life. But you shouldn't dispair if you aren't certain of your every decision because you are saved by the grace of God, not by your ability to live a morally perfect life.

As people who are trusting entirely on Jesus for our salvation, we can relax a little. We don't have to lose sleep over every difficult choice we made. If you are following Christ, however imperfectly, you are forgiven. You have a clean slate with God.