The Scriptures condemn the evil moral system of pragmatism, which claims that noble ends justify illicit means. It is never right to do wrong, that right might prevail. Doing "whatever it takes" to get what we want is a depraved moral methodology.
The Lord Jesus life and ministry is a particular rebuke to pragmatism, for never was there a less pragmatic person than the Savior! He refused to do the practical things necessary to achieve His goals of saving His people and bringing in the kingdom - at least, from the perspective of his friends and foes alike.
Satan offered a menu of practical schemes to speed up the work of Christ. Use your power to satisfy your need for food. Prove your bona fides by testing God's promise of protection of Messiah. Receive the kingdom right now by worshiping the devil.
These were not God's approved means, and they were all sinful, no matter how pragmatic they might be.
In His youth, He left the temple, the center of God's work, and submitted Himself to His parents. This aborted His "early start," but the pragmatic considerations could not make disobeying His parents the right thing to do.
Christ's disciples, on the other hand, urged Christ to do the practical, necessary things to hurry up His work.
They urged Him to punish those who rejected His teachings, but He made it clear it would be wrong of Him to do such things.
They condemned all talk of His dying, but He rebuked them for loving the things of men more than the things of God.
It seems our Lord Jesus simply would not be a practical man, doing the obvious things that needed to be done.
He refused the pragmatic path. Praise God He did, or we would all be lost!
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John Pittman Hey was born in 1961 in Jackson, Mississippi, to Godly parents who from the beginning raised him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. With child-like faith he came to Christ on his fourth birthday at his mother's knee. He received his education at church...
