The Avoidance Ethic

As I mentioned last week, I'm in the middle of John Piper's book Don't Waste Your Life. It's a short but powerful read, and I have found myself challenged and convicted in several areas as I've read through it.



Here's a little nugget from a chapter in which he addresses the pitfalls of living with a peacetime mind-set:



One of the marks of this peacetime mind-set is what I call an avoidance ethic. In wartime we ask different questions about what to do with our lives than we do in peacetime. We ask: What can I do to advance the cause? What can I do to bring the victory? What sacrifice can I make or what risk can I take to insure the joy of triumph? In peacetime we tend to ask, What can I do to be more comfortable? To have more fun? To avoid trouble and, possibly, avoid sin?



If we are going to pay the price and take the risks it will cost to make people glad in God, we move beyond the avoidane ethic. This way of life is utterly inadequate to waken people to the beauty of Christ. Avoiding fearful trouble and forbidden behaviors impresses almost no one. The avoidance ethic by itself is not Christ-commending or God-glorifying. There are many disciplined unbelievers who avoid the same behaviors Christians do. Jesus calls us to something far more radical than that.



People who are content with the avoidance ethic generally ask the wrong questions about behavior. They ask, What's wrong with it? What's wrong with this movie? Or this music? Or this game? Or these companions? Or this way of relaxing? Or this investment? Or this restaurant? Or shopping at this store? What's wrong with going to the cabin every weekend? Or having a cabin? This kind of question will rarely yield a lifestyle that commends Christ as all-satisfying and makes people glad in God. It simply results in a list of don'ts. It feeds the avoidance ethic.



The better question to ask about possible behaviors is: How will this help me treasure Christ more? How will it help me show that I do treasure Christ? How will it help me know Christ or display Christ? The Bible says, "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). So the question is mainly positive, not negative. How can I portray God as glorious in this action? How can I enjoy making much of him in this behavior? (Don't Waste Your Life, pps. 118-119)





Wow, talk about food for thought. Do you find yourself falling into that avoidance mindset, rather than taking a more proactive approach in pursuing activities that glorify God?