"Yes & No"

The American Heritage Dictionary defines “pragmatism” as a practical, matter-of-fact way of approaching or assessing situations or of solving problems. 1+1=2
Is Christianity pragmatic, logical, and reasonable? Yes & No

Yes, there are predictable results in living according to biblical principles, but if we live by principles alone we will miss the Christian message. There are things not pragmatic about the message of Christ. He said we must, “die to live”, we must, “give to get”, and we must “serve to lead”. No pragmatism there! You can make these things pragmatic, but it would be a mistake.

1+1 does not always equal 2 in God’s equation.

The error in pragmatism, or living by certain principles for success is that it can be self centered according to how we define “success”. Jesus said He came to do the Father’s will, which was not about what He wanted, but what the Father wanted. It was not about His success, but the Father’s. Who’s success do you want?

After the resurrection, Christ appeared to the disciples and told them, “as the Father has sent Me, I also send you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.” In this verse we see the call of Christ for us to be like Him. There is a very important part of being like Christ we need to consider, Jesus “breathed on them the Holy Spirit”. He equipped them with the power to do His will. Trying to do the things of God without His strength is impossible. Dying to self is not a natural thing for a man or woman to do, neither is giving to get, or serving others. God helps us to do these things in His Holy Spirit.

Christians that have made a conscious decision to follow Christ, know that success is not defined by the world’s standard, but by Christ. We are not living by certain principles for our gain, but out of a heart that wants to please God.

Living by God’s principles are many times a practical way of living and God does bless our obedience (if we have the right motive), but many times there is nothing practical about it. What Jesus did on the cross was not practical. It was the greatest sacrifice known to man, and very unreasonable from man’s perspective. But it was the will of the Father, so that’s what Jesus did.

Doing the will of Christ will not always be a practical matter, and it may require great faith. God may lead us to do something that does not make sense, but we will know in our heart it’s the right thing to do.

So is pragmatism right or wrong? Yes & No