Henry Krabbendam - James - World Evangelical Alliance

well be a desert Psalm of Mosaic origin, a companion of Psalm 90, the latter looking
backward, and the former forward. If this is so, it appears that in the desert only two
found this “sanctuary,” namely Joshua and Caleb. All the others died a miserable death
because of their rebellion (Compare Heb. 3:7-14).
At any rate, the upshot of the theological climate shift from God-centered to
man-centered is there for all to see. God-centered books on Predestination and the Ten
Commandments disappeared with their emphasis upon the worship of God in the
splendor of holiness that in previous centuries had captured the hearts of authors and
readers alike. They were replaced by a veritable flood of basically, be it often subtly,
man-centered and, in comparison, anemic literature on God’s “ideal will” and how to
capture it, “guidance” and how to ascertain it, or the “center of God’s will,” and how
to find it, so that life would proceed (under God’s watchful eye) with a minimum of
unpleasant upheavals and hopefully a maximum of experiences in the plus column.
(2) It Is Not Fully Honest
Second, apart from being man-centered in that it is “resistible” and aims at man’s
“happiness,” the notion of the so-called “perfect will of God” has a further drawback.
It is not a fully honest concept. Usually the issues that are brought up under this heading
are the three “biggies,” marriage, profession and residence. Often they evoke extensive
bouts of agony in the decision making process. In the little things of life, however,
the so-called perfect will is virtually ignored. Whether the right or left shoelace
ought to be tied first never enters the picture in this context. Why would it? After all,
human happiness is not at stake in mundane issues such as this! In a word, there is
universal inconsistency in the application of the concept. In fact, most of the time it
plays no role whatsoever! Again, why would it? When it does not serve man’s purpose
“for a happy life,” it serves no purpose, and is useless!
The following anecdote should illustrate this. In one instance I suggested to a
bright and intelligent College student that she should double major. In response she
told me that she had to seek out God’s will for her life before she could make this decision.
She would do so prayerfully, of course! Upon the question, whether she had
followed the same procedure in determining her first major, she blushed. No, she had
failed to do this. Of course, she did not follow this procedure, I would add, because she
chose the first major as part of her pursuit of happiness. Ironically, the same rationale
was present in her hesitation regarding a second major. Too much work certainly
would negatively impact her happiness. Instinctively and immediately she grasped for
God’s ideal will for a comfortable life. The idea of godly dominion taking was not
even considered. Keep it happy and take it easy were the two guidelines that governed
her decision making processes. Regrettably, she is not an isolated case. Anecdotes,
such as this can be multiplied many times! The grievous theological climate shift from
God-centered to man-centered seems to have entered the bone marrow of the Christian
Church. No wonder that the latter is losing ground by the decade, if not the year. It
seems that man-centered “mush” replaced God-centered steel. But there is an additional
wrinkle.
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