Common Sense

Jun 1st, 2009 by Trace

Remember when you could justify your position to your children and support it by saying, “It’s just common sense.”? That line doesn’t work so well anymore. And the reason it doesn’t is because in today’s relativistic postmodern world common sense isn’t so common anymore. No longer do Americans accept a common standard by which to determine behavioral ethics as we once did—whether these ethics are of work, moral, social, political, religious, or other. There used to be a bit of positive peer pressure that would influence us to do things that were considered normal and good. But even “normal and good” are terms that are losing their meaning in a society that believes that truth is relative. The only thing common about common sense today is that we should be free to do our own thing—which, of course, can never be common to everyone. Therefore, the truth is, there is no such thing as common sense anymore—at least for those who buy into the postmodern worldview—because there is no absolute standard by which to determine it.

We must train our children about God’s Word, will, and way, so that at least our kids and families can operate from a common point of reference when it comes to ethics. We must teach our kids about how far America has fallen since losing her grasp of common sense, and from where and from Whom she once pulled to find it. We must teach our kids the implications of a society, a family, a business, or any other social entity that attempts to operate without the essential qualities of common sense. If a house divided cannot stand—how much more when the divisions are myriad? Teach your kids that even in a society that chooses to attempt to function without common sense it is all the more important for us to live by the common sense that God gave to all of His children who are willing to obey Him.

Common sense is essential for any civilized society. And it is essential for any healthy family that doesn’t want to be crippled by dysfunction. The basis of all family dysfunction, societal chaos, and war is when the ideologies of people or a people group clash. This also gives evidence to the idea that it is impossible to truly separate church and state in practical application, because everyone has a point of view when it comes to religious or spiritual matters—even for those who claim to have none, because even the atheist has a sense of right and wrong. And this sense of right and wrong has a genesis that the atheist believes, by faith, to be true. But, let us continue to live by the common sense that is common to God—even as we live in a society that has discarded it for its own selfish purposes so that each man and woman can live pursuing their own individual lusts with no common “sense” of right or wrong. And let us impress this common sense on our children. Dt. 6:6-7 says. “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Impress means indelibly implant, not just teach, but model!

I would add that we should surround our kids with other families and kids of like minds—people who can reinforce God’s common sense. We should do this so that when our kids are exposed to the myriad of other worldviews out there, (worldviews that are ready to gratify their flesh at the expense of their bodies, minds, souls and spirits) they will see the foolishness in it all. Then, hopefully, they will find a refuge and the security that comes, not just from common sense, but from a relationship with the Creator of that common sense–the God who also created them and us, and Jesus Christ Who has made it possible for us to be reconciled to God by His sacrifice on the cross.