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9/12/15

SHADES OF GRAY... Sunday

Devotional for 9/13/15


Are shades of gray a good or a bad thing?  This is not in reference to a recent erotic romance novel.  In counseling or cognitive therapies, black or white thinking (all or nothing thinking) is considered a cognitive distortion, an unrealistic thought process.  It is when someone thinks in absolutes and is unable to see the middle ground, the gray areas.  Someone might exaggerate how they feel if they only express it in extremes of black or white thinking. Seeing the "shades of gray" in between is considered more healthy and truthful.  Instead of thinking that someone either loves you or hates you, it allows you to see that someone may like you, even when they disagree with you.  Black or white thinking also can refer to seeing issues as having a definite yes/no or right/wrong answer rather than seeing gray areas or that issues may lack clear borders.  Or it can mean thinking that there are only two answers to a problem that may have many possible solutions. When a person can see the gray areas, it gives more depth, just like in a pencil sketch that has multiple shades rather than only black lines on white paper.  These examples show how shades of gray can be positive.

But sometimes black and white are not negative.  Having definite boundaries can be comforting, guiding a person to a more desirable outcome. Gray areas in terms of rules can be confusing.  God's Word gives us some very concrete black and white tenets.  One of those is that ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  But even when we are totally separated from God in our shortcomings, he offers us one solution.  He forgives us when we believe that Jesus died on the cross in our place in order that we might live eternally with him in heaven.  There are no shades of gray in this area.
John 14:6 (28 kb)
Dear Father in heaven, forgive me when I think I can get away with thinking in shades of gray when it comes to my sinfulness.  Help me to remember that I am not perfect and cannot work my way into your heart, because you already put me there.  I can never come to you except through faith in your son, Jesus Christ, which your Holy Spirit has given me the power to believe.  Thank you for the free gift of forgiveness and salvation.  Help me to point others to the "one way" to you.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

written by Jan Andersen


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2 comments:

  1. Women's Focus MinistriesSeptember 12, 2015 at 11:24 PM

    Unfortunately there are people whose thought process can be very close minded. While there is a time where there is no way to think but the truth, and that is not open to interpretation. Such things are black and white. In other considerations there is room for "shades of gray" to be pondered as we form opinions. We need to know which kind of thinking is appropriate in any situation.

    God bless...

    ReplyDelete
  2. LyndaKSeptember 14, 2015 at 8:03 AM

    Beautifully Said. Thank you!

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