Everyone's Entitled to My Opinion: About Infallibility

I'm visiting friends in the far-away land of West (by God) Virginia today, so I'm letting Dallas Willard sit in for me. That's good news for the reader--you're trading up!

"Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor." Proverbs 18: 12

Someone may ask, "When will I be sure that God is speaking to me and sure about what he says? Could I not still be mistaken, even though I've successfully heard and understood his voice many times before?" Yes, of course you could still be wrong. God does not intend to make us infallible by his conversational walk with us. You could also be wrong in believing that your gas gauge is working, that your bank is reliable or that your food is not poisoned. Such is human life. Our walk with the Lord does not exempt us from the possibility of error, even in our experienced discernment of what his voice is saying. Infallibility, and especially infallibility in discerning the mind of God, simply does not fit the human condition. It should not be desired, much less expected, from our relationship with God.

REFLECT: Consider why it might be so important to be infallible in discerning God's voice. How can your ability to discern God's voice become a source of pride? Is your spirituality about this ability or is it about trusting a God who is infallible?


From Hearing God Through the Year by Dallas Willard. ©2004 by Dallas Willard and Jan Johnson