"And Samuel said, what meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" (I Sam. 15:14).
The words are familiar to us. God told Saul to destroy everything people and livestock, everything that pertained to the Amalekites. He was to spare nothing. But Saul reasoned that it was all right to spare Agag the king and some of the best of the cattle.
You remember how Saul rationalized his deviation from the direct command of God. He was sure the Lord would not object to his saving some of the animals for sacrifice this was part of worship. Having Agag around, Saul reasoned, would be a constant testimony to the living God and His power to deliver His people.
The reasoning humanly speaking was fine. The problem was, Saul was not doing what the Lord told him plainly and specifically to do. He was rationalizing!
According to the dictionary, to rationalize is "to produce plausible but untrue reasons for conduct. .. to substitute a natural for a supernatural explanation."
It is too easy to explain away what God says if we want to do something different, or if another way appears to be easier and does not rock the boat too much and the consequences are not too dire. The rationalizing person who does not wish to follow exactly the counsel God gives and yet wishes to "do what God wants him to do" does not deny that God has given the counsel he just attempts to explain away that counsel. He convinces himself that a way short of God's explicit direction is acceptable to the Lord and is really all right to follow.
Saul wanted to keep the sheep and cattle, so he rationalized himself into believing there was really nothing wrong in doing so. Do we do the same in making some of our decisions?
We speak of "de-emphasis" today instead of rationalization and compromise. We didn't hear much of the word until recent years. When we don't like "rationalize" or "compromise" shady implications of deviation we talk about "de-emphasizing" certain things. When we wish to gain favor with those not of our faith, we begin to de-emphasize our differences. "Let's get closer together." Let's play down our differences. After all, maybe some of these points aren't so important. We don't change we just de-emphasize the sanctuary, the judgment, and some of our distinctive truths.
From a source I can no longer identify I read these words on rationalizing: "While addressing the World Council of Churches in New Delhi in 1961, the late Prime Minister Nehru said: 'The politician is constantly inclined to compromise. Sometimes this might be all right for him, but once you begin to compromise it is a slippery path. Every step seems a small step, and yet it takes you further away from your basic position. By contrast, the true man of religion will stick to the truth as he sees it regardless of the consequences.'"
What sobering words for us to ponder prayerfully. Dare we hold a lower standard than a non-Christian politician?
There are some gray areas where the issues are not altogether clear cut. It is agonizing to make some decisions. How much we need the wisdom of the Lord to help us at such times. But let's face it sometimes it is more comfortable to follow the path of least resistance. Any other course will bring on disagreement, opposition, frustration, unpleasantness, or we may be suspected of fanaticism. How we fear that label in this sophisticated age! Then that insidious little demon of rationalization commences his hellish work "Perhaps the servant of the Lord didn't mean what she said. Perhaps there were time and setting factors that influenced her. If she were living today, possibly she would look at things differently.
It is better to have peace and harmony than to have everything upset in disunity. The time hasn't come yet for us to get excited about these things."
So we hang another harp on our willow tree. We write another "Ichabod" over the lintel of God's glorious house of truth and righteousness.
Instead of the bleating of sheep in our ears, let us make His Word and the Spirit of Prophecy our court of final appeal. "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it" (John 2:5)
Robert H. Pierson was president of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists when wrote this article.
