Flying without a manual

I flew combat missions in a twin-engine A-6 Intruder. We had a 968-page manual that explained everything we needed to know about our airplane. Our lives depended on knowing that aircraft, which meant knowing that manual. It dealt with routine operations, minor difficulties, emergency situations, and life or death crises. We read it because we believed we desperately needed what it offered. We were effective in proportion to how well we understood and implemented what it taught us. Our professional reputations sprang from how well we applied its procedures and instructions.

Christian ethics without knowledge of the Christian Book is like flying a combat jet and ignoring the NATOPS manual. The Bible is clear that believers are on a mission, and that there is a battle in which we are participants. God has provided for our proper training, but how many of us have actually trained and suitably prepared for the conflict?

The most common estimates on Bible reading show that 10 to 30 percent of regular church attendees read their Bibles regularly, with less than 10 percent having ever read the entire Bible. Imagine the effectiveness of a squadron with 90 percent of its pilots ignorant about their airplane.

Is it any wonder that Christians in the workplace don’t stand out as being different from their contemporaries when it comes to ethics? Should it surprise us that our effectiveness in an increasingly pagan culture is waning? Can we genuinely be surprised when we fail to act in ethically Christian ways if we have never read the Book? It should be no secret that the simple way to improve our ethical reputation in the neighborhood is to read our Bibles.

The Bible is meant to equip us for the routine of life, minor difficulties, emergency situations, and, most importantly, the crucial issues of life or death. Definitive answers are available, at our fingertips, but how well do we know our stuff? The answer is obvious: not well.

The truth is, and it is a harsh reality, we don’t believe we desperately need what the Bible has to offer. Would you chew on that for a moment? We don’t believe that we need the Bible. If we did, we would read it as pilots read their NATOPS manuals.

The Apostle Paul told the Thessalonians:

“… make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands … so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders. …”

Paul assumed the Thessalonians would lead a biblically ethical life and that life would inspire respect.

Here are four questions to test ourselves about what we really believe:

The answers will help us determine what we believe, of what we may need to repent, and what we need to change.