My thinking was really messed before I got saved. It was only later that I realized that the Lord downloaded a whole bunch of revelatory knowledge. And at the point of conversion the truth was so clear, that I couldn't see why everybody didn't see it. Only weeks later, I was thinking "It's so complicated how can anyone find it?" I still saw the truth, but what I realized, is that the Lord had lead me through a very complicated intellectual maze (with many possible false turns) from where I had been before conversion, to the truth. And He had done it in such a way that I never missed a correct turn. But then He sent me back to find my own way through without His guidance, and I took rabbit trail, after rabbit trail. It was so complicated! He then helped me in a different way, in a way that helped me to understand the difficulties others have in seeing the truth. In this way I could help others, if they are willing, to find their way through their own maze.
Paul said “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). That is, he put himself in their shoes, seeking to enter their thought process and (in terms of my picture) so lead them through their maze of error to truth. One error in our culture is to believe that all truth is relative. The church has responded by saying “No, all truth is absolute!” But, as I have said in previous posts while there is absolute truth, there are also truths that are relative, for example truths that require different solutions in different situations (see 2md and 3rd September). So if we are to be like Paul, we need to understand where the world is coming from, and so give an appropriate answer of the hope in us. Again, we don't get saved by reason, we get saved because God opens our spiritual eyes. But like I was before I became a Christian there is, many times an awful lot of clutter others need to get past. So how do we help?
Jordon Peterson in a debate with Sam Harris started off by stating points of agreement. One that struck me, is that both men wanted to find a place for morality to stand between the rigid loveless dogmatism that characterizes much religion (both Christians and non-Christian), and the chaos that results from believing all truth is relative. I believe Peterson is following Paul's example, and in so doing so, he gained Harris's respect and the right to be heard. We need to to that too! I see three things. We need (a) to engage the culture in a respectful non-condemning way, but seeking to speak the truth in love, (b) to be in the process of being changed from one degree of glory to another and (c) to give the testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy .
Father, if we try and give the testimony of Jesus without being in the process of being changed, we will not likely be heard. Help us to love people Lord, and to learn the skill of meeting them where they are at, not where we want them to be. Help us to be respectful and to see them as You see them, as the best possible version of themselves. In this way we can call them up, not out in Jesus Name Amen
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