Instincts

Have you ever been in a spot where you just didn't know what to do?  Maybe you were (or are) facing a decision that needs to be made and there just doesn't seem to be anyway to make it without possibly hurting someone.  Or maybe the decision you need to make is one where you just really don't know what to choose?

In situations like this I have heard people say something like: "Just follow your instincts".  Another way to say it is: "Follow your gut".

I have been thinking about this a little, and on the surface this seems like decent advice.  A practical example of this is when you are taking a test and there are multiple possible answers.  You are told that sometimes, when you don't know the answer, just choose the first one that seems to feel right and go for it.  What do you have to lose right?  At least your instinct is better than a purely random guess!

Now, I do think that there are times when following your instincts is not a bad thing.  The reason for that is because our instincts are trained by our experiences and those experiences are ways in which we have learned.  In this sense, experience is like education even if it is not on a conscious and logical plane. 

But a problem arises here--if our instincts are influenced by experiences, then following them implies that our current body of experience/knowledge is sufficient to guide us.  We are assuming that what we know or intuit is all we can really access in terms of making decisions.

If this is true then two questions arise:  1.  Is our body of knowledge based on reason or experience enough to guide us when we have to make really tough decisions?  2.  Is there another place we can go to get what we need to make these hard choices?

I know that I am over-generalizing here, but I still think a point can be made that sometimes we find ourselves trusting our instincts or even our reason when we should be relying on God to help us to move forward.

Let's listen to Jude 1:18-20. . . .
"In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.  These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.  But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life."

When you read this you might be tempted to think that when the author is talking about "mere natural instincts" that he is talking about things related to moral or sexual issues.  This is true in part, but only in part. Because in verse 10 it says "these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct--as irrational animals do--will destroy them."  This is a very broad statement indeed.

A person who bases the entirety of their wisdom on their experiences and instincts and does not pursue God's wisdom and knowledge is irrational!  That means they are really not making decisions based on the most trusted foundation possible--and that foundation is God himself.

Another passage tells us that God's ways are not our ways, and God's thoughts are not our thoughts.  So it would seem that if we are facing tough choices, to try and navigate them simply based on our experience and instinct is not trusting a very good source.  I would even want to say that what sometimes serves as 'common sense' is also very little more than common experience and should be held loosely as we evaluate it with God's word.

So what do we do?  If you are 'stuck' and are needing wisdom through which to make some decisions, then begin by praying in the Holy Spirit.  This just means humbly accepting that the Holy Spirit's job is to teach us all things, and so when we come to Him and ask for help, He will give it.  It will happen the way He wants and when He wants, but He will always come through.  Remember, we almost always come to prayer with our own agendas and expectations and we need to try and leave those at the door in order to receive what He desires for us.

So, the next time you are needing to exercise wisdom in choosing something that is really tough, try avoiding your instincts and lean on God through praying in the Spirit and see what you will learn.  You may be surprised!

BT