The Bigger Picture

I’ve been caught up in some intramural discussions, to put it mildly.  So it’s time to think more irenically (charitably, peaceably) for a moment, and regain the bigger picture.
 
The Reformed world, and the Christian world in general I believe, is made up of certain types.
 - The pietist who just wants to love Jesus and others, and focus on personal godliness and holiness.
 - The thinker who wants to get Biblical truth right, and focus on the accuracy of confessional statements.
 - The activist who wants to transform the culture with the Gospel, and focus on apologetics and politics.
 
Ideally, these three emphases should mesh together in our lives, but sadly we often put them at odds with one another.

The pietist bemoans Christians who have gotten “distracted with politics.”
The thinker criticizes the shallow faith of the pietist.
The activist berates the pietist for “truncating the Gospel” to just personal faith.
The pietist bemoans the thinker, whose faith is all in his head and not in his heart.
The thinker criticizes the activist for focusing too much on earthly things, and not eternal truths.
The activist berates the thinker for being too Gnostic, focusing too much on heavenly things, and neglecting the Gospel’s physical impact on earth.
 
In my mind, it’s a 3-legged stool.  If one leg gets over-developed to the detriment of the others, you’re going to fall over.  When any one leg gets to thinking they are THE thing, it’s time for them to recover some humility and listen to the other two legs.  

Recalibrate your opinions on “what everyone has to do.”