Plan “A” Living

To overcome anxiety we need to acquire a singleness of vision and purpose. The question is, “Are we going to live our way or God’s way?" Let’s call God’s way Plan A, which we accept by faith. Let’s call humanity’s way Plan B, which is a natural product of human reason and intuition. God’s ways are always rational and reasonable. Man’s ways appear to be rational, but we have such limited perspective that we can never know if we are basing our decisions on all the facts, nor can we predict with precision what the consequences of our choices and actions will be. That is why God says His ways are not our ways (Is. 55:8).

When we come to Christ, our old ways of thinking and living are still ingrained in our minds. If we don’t know God’s ways, we will continue to live the way we always have. Now that we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), we can learn God’s ways. Until we are fully committed to know and live according to what God says is true, we will waffle between Plan A and B. A commitment to live according to Plan A decreases our commitment and tendency to live as we always had. Mixing our ways with God’s ways decreases our commitment to Plan A. Such waffling between Plan A and Plan B creates its own anxieties for Christians, because they are double-minded.

A natural person could experience less anxiety than an immature or uncommitted Christian who wants to straddle the fence and have the “best” of both worlds. The natural person creates his or her own rationalistic world-view and natural explanation of reality. If they are responsible people, they could experience less anxiety than a carnal Christian for much of their natural life. But don’t follow their example, because, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12), and don’t choose Plan B because it may seem less worrisome in the present.

God’s Plan A for marriage is a life-time monogamous relationship between a man and a woman who are to stay faithful and committed to each other until death separates them. A young couple should be instructed not to even mentally consider any other options, because they will be tempted to. Thinking what it would be like to be married to someone else is a fantasy that will appear better than what they have. We can actually carry on a mental affair with someone other than our spouse, but such fantasies and mental affairs will take away our commitment to Plan A.

What would happen if a young couple got married with the understanding that they could always get a divorce if the relationship didn’t work out? They will probably get divorced, because commitment is what makes the marriage relationship unique. If a wife establishes her own career in case the marriage doesn’t last, she is making preparations for Plan B. If a husband is more committed to his job than his marriage, he is choosing Plan B. Choosing Plan A is choosing a way of life that is consistent with how the Creator intended us to live.

Dr. Neil

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