Even if we’ve done the right thing or arrived at the right belief, we haven’t necessarily walked worthy. We have to get there for the right reasons and in the right way. We can only do that if outcomes have their proper, lower, place in our priorities.

As humans, we have a strong bias toward the practical. It makes sense. Even before the Fall, Adam was given responsibilities that required problem-solving, outcome-oriented, cause-and-effect thinking.

Naming the animals was a puzzle to solve (Gen 2:19-20). How do you name them all without using names twice? How do you name them in a way that is orderly? You don’t have to be Linnaeus to notice that the characteristics of animals follow patterns. Adam would have had some interest in categorizing animals as he named them, and that would have required problem-solving thought.

Then there was the job of tending and keeping the garden of Eden (Gen 2:15). We’re still pre-curse, but the language implies overcoming challenges to improve what was there.

We could speculate about what that involved, but here’s the point: From day one, humans were made to think along the lines of, “If I choose Option A, I’ll get this result; but if I choose Option B, I’ll get a better result; so I should go with Option B.”

There’s nothing wrong with that. God made us that way, and said it was “very good” (Gen 1:31).

American culture takes our innate practical orientation and ups it a notch. Not all that long ago, most Americans were pioneers attempting to settle and establish a new way of life on an unfamiliar continent. Then we expanded westward for a century or so. Solving practical problems like reliable food, water, and shelter for your family were primary concerns for many decades. Americans had to be resourceful and scrappy, and that outcome-oriented drive is still a strong part of our national character.

There’s nothing wrong with that either. That interest in dealing with harsh realities is one of the factors that has slowed the advance of leftist idealism in the U.S. (relative to, say, Europe). It has fueled the American version of conservatism—because part of being practical is asking, “What has worked in the past?” often answering with, “If it ain’t broke…”

Despite all this, our bias toward practicality presents a serious hazard to genuinely Christian thinking and living.

Practical vs. Christian

The old jibe that some people are “so heavenly minded, they’re of no earthly good” resonates with me. In this essay, I’m not advocating a detached, pious-sounding, Christian flavor of idealism.

The apostle Paul was a very practical guy. He sneaks out of Damascus by being lowered over a wall in a basket (Acts 9:22). On trial before the Sanhedrin, he turns them against each other by raising a controversial theological question (Acts 23:6-7). In the shipwreck sequence (Acts 27) he brims with both faith (Acts 27:23-25) and down-to-earth solutions (Acts 27:26, 34).

Nehemiah also comes to mind.

As for the builders, each wore his sword strapped to his waist as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me. ¹⁹ And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another. ²⁰ At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, assemble to us there. Our God will fight for us.” ²¹ So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from dawn until the stars appeared. (NASB, Neh 4:18–21)

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