Uncommon Sense

Definition of COMMON SENSE

: sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts

There is a lot of concern about the decline of what we call ‘common sense’ these days. One half of society sees the other half as lacking in sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of facts. Of course the other half reciprocates. Judgment based on perception is entirely dependent on how you perceive the situation or facts. I would define common sense in a different way, even as Solomon did; There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death (Proverbs 14:12 ESV).

The problem with common sense is that it is led by the nature of Adam. It is called common because it is supposedly shared by all mankind, but ask a hundred different people what to do in a given situation and you are likely to get a hundred different answers. So the commonality in common sense is this: Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart (Proverbs 21:2 ESV).  Jesus came to destroy what we call common sense. He came not to bring peace, but a sword, and often the first thing he divides us from with that sword is ‘common sense’. He desires to cut away what we see as ‘right’ and pare us down to the heart level. It is a painful process.

If you want to see how painful the process is, you need look no further than Matthew 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount. In the first few pages of the New Testament we get the idea that Jesus is not a big fan of common sense. In this famous sermon of counter intuition, he starts by telling us who the happy ones are: the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure, the peacemakers and the persecuted. There is nothing common sense about that list. Common sense would tell us that exactly the opposite is true. Jesus came to bring uncommon sense – thinking that is not of this world and does not submit to the rules of this world.

He goes on to tell us that our outward actions – murder and adultery – are the result of inward sin – anger and lust. Common sense cares little why a person does something so long as he is doing the ‘right’ thing. He tells us that we are not to retaliate but to offer ourselves in humility to those who mistreat us. He goes so far as to tell us that we must love our enemies and those who persecute us - that it is easy to love and respect those who love and respect us, but that God expects us to love those who hate and disrespect us. Finally he makes the greatest statement of uncommon sense of all time: You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48 ESV).

In chapter 6, he tells us not to practice our righteousness before men, not to lay up treasures for ourselves on earth, not to be anxious about anything. Chapter 7 reveals that we are not to judge others, we are not to be too proud to ask God for the things we need, we are to treat others as we desire to be treated, that many who have endeavor to serve him in ministry will be turned away in the last day. A great load of things which have nothing to do with ‘common sense’ and a heavy burden to those who are enslaved by it. Clearly, in order that Christ’s yoke might be easy, we must be loosed from the foolishness of common sense. Otherwise his words will crush us.

The last two verses of chapter 7 are these:  And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes (Matthew 7:28-29 ESV). By what authority was he speaking? Clearly not by the authority of common sense from the Adamic nature. He spoke only what the Father had given him to speak. The crowds were amazed because his teaching was abrupt, piercing, counter-intuitive. The words were the words of God and blew common sense out of the water! Anyone who has ears to hear these words ought to have a desire to get away from the deadly snare of common sense. Paul said:

    Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
   The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:12-16 ESV)

One of the gifts of God that is received through faith is godly wisdom. Common sense is nothing but worldly wisdom. I am not surprised at the lack of ‘common sense’ we see in society today, but that the church embraces common sense as if it were the wisdom of God and mourns the loss of it. If you can interpret Matthew 5-7 as being something of common sense or common decency then you are seeing Jesus as a common man, which he was not. Until we recognize that he spoke the words of God and accept his otherworldly  ‘uncommon sense’ as the only kind of thinking that matters, we will never become uncommon people. That is the gospel truth.

God Bless