Faith vs. Common sense

I have been told many times that God calls us to use our common sense. I have several problems with this. The first one is, common sense is not very common. Believe me. I support phones and internet over the phone and have spoken to many people who missed the boat on that one.

Second, and more importantly, I find in the bible God tells us not to use our common sense. An often quoted verse, Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.” One might say your own common sense. There are also several stories that common sense was thrown right out to follow God. In every case, it was so that God would get the full glory of the situation.

Example 1: Gideon

God told Gideon to lead Israel into battle. He started with 32000 men. He was all geared up for the battle when God said, hey – You got to many men. I need to get the glory for this. So through a series of test and questions, God has Gideon narrow down the count a tad. He narrowed it to 300 (not that 300 – this was another more farmer like less ripped body builder trained warrior.) It was 300 against about 135,000. Where is the common sense in that? Common sense would say – Gideon, it is stupid for you to take 32,000 into battle against the… wait what you are taking 300? Death called, he’ll see you in a few.

Example 2: David

This is a story we all know. A young boy hears a giant challenge men and mock God. David watched everyone hide and do nothing about it. Having great faith in God, David was like, “Hey guys, don’t you know that our God will win this one? Someone go out there and kill that man.” I am sure after the laughter was over someone said – “You do it.” And David was like I will. So he turns down the king’s armor and sword and spear. Instead, at God’s direction, he chooses 3 rocks and a piece of cloth. That’s like turning down a couple assault rifles and hand grenades for a BB gun. Not sure there is a lot of common sense there.

Example 3: Me

God called me to take my family and move to Savannah to start a church. At first, it looked like God was going to make it easy to work in Atlanta and still live in Savannah. That way my family would be provided for and I would still be able to work at Canvas. Through a series of events, it did not work out that way. It would go against all common sense to quit my incredible job, ask people to support us and still think my family would provide for me.

The thing is, often when our heart is right, and we are following God, common sense can be our number one enemy. As Christians, we need to replace common sense with simple faith. God will always do what he said He will do. After all, Gideon’s 300 won, David beat Goliath with a rock , and I know God will provide for us.

“ Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Hebrews 11: 1