In the top drawer, I found a carbon copy letter from Jim addressed to the local contractor’s union to which he evidently belonged. Dated in the 1960’s, it accused a union contractor of violating his pledge by underbidding fellow members on a particular job. A second letter, this one about 30 years old, was more personal in nature and recounted Jim’s attempt to reconcile with an estranged relative. A third decades-old document was simply a thank-you note from a satisfied customer, commending him for a job well done.

Lest you think me a nosy snoop, let me hasten to say that I was just quickly perusing through the clutter of documents to make sure nothing of great value would be carted off to the dumpster. But my point is this: even though I had never spent a day of my life with Jim, I learned something about him—his likes and dislikes, his values and convictions—by “looking over his shoulder,” so to speak, and reading the correspondence he carried on dozens of years ago with people I never knew.

Now for sake of illustration, let’s suppose I desired to get a job working in Jim’s construction company. Naturally, if I were serious about getting hired, I would be interested in knowing what this man might expect from an employee. How might he want me to conduct myself while at the interview or on the job?

From his complaint to the contractor’s union, I would conclude that Jim values loyalty—that he likes a team player. Therefore, to secure my position as his employee, I might work a few extra hours “off the clock” to help him meet an important deadline. From the letter that sought reconciliation with a relative, I conclude that Jim is willing to admit his faults and that he’s not too proud or stubborn to ask forgiveness. Thus, if I want to please Jim, I might quickly own up to a miscalculation on a job order, rather than make excuses or blame others. From the thank-you note, I judge that Jim doesn’t cut corners on a job—that he values quality workmanship. Therefore, if a job calls for 34 inch plywood, but I know I could get by with 12 inch plywood, I will install the sturdier material, because through the indirect means of reading an old thank-you note, I have deduced what Jim would approve of in this new situation.

Of course, there are a few important criteria that must be met in order for me to achieve the goal of pleasing Jim. First, I must carefully read the old letters and understand exactly what was written. Second, I must carefully ponder the implication of these documents. I must grasp the underlying conviction that compelled Jim to write what he did so many years ago. Third, I must learn to recognize specific situations in my daily work where Jim’s convictions might shape my current decisions. (There will probably be many decisions about a wide variety of issues that Jim’s values will influence.) Finally, I must have a strong inward desire to please my new boss. This devotion must motivate me earnestly, honestly and consistently to find ways to express his values and convictions through my daily decisions as his employee.

Most of my readers have anticipated that the analogy of reading Jim’s mail approximates the method used to apply Scripture to the many moral and ethical decisions we face each day. Of course, with Scripture, we have the element of divine inspiration which lifts it to a much higher level of authority than an old carbon copy letter or a forgotten thank-you note. But the basic method of interpretation and application is the same.

You see, while God’s Word speaks very plainly to some contemporary lifestyle issues, it does not directly address many of the decisions that we are confronted with daily. For example, the Bible is silent on the question of the use of technology. It does not overtly speak of the appropriateness of “PG-13” and “R” rated films. Dancing, the use of cosmetics, style and content of music, a Christian’s involvement in politics, theater or professional sports are all matters not directly and specifically spelled out in book-chapter-verse fashion. Likewise abortion, human cloning, surrogate parenting and stem-cell research are not discussed in the Bible.

But what we do have in the 66 ancient documents that comprise the Old and New Testaments is a “filing cabinet” full of clues—clues that if read carefully and studied thoroughly will reveal the mind, the attitude, and character of God. In a sense, when we read the Bible, we’re “reading someone else’s mail.” But as we “read over the shoulder” of Moses, Isaiah and Peter, as they write to long-departed people of a foreign culture about specific lifestyle issues that we may never face, the writers’ basic convictions and values begin to emerge. And we understand these to be, ultimately, the values and convictions of the God who inspired their writings.

My friend and mentor, Rev. Edsel Trouten, smiles when he recalls a classroom of inquisitive Bible school students putting tough questions to the late Dr. Leslie Wilcox. When presented with a difficult ethical question, Dr. Wilcox would first pause and think. Then he would often respond, “Well, I think the apostle Paul would say…” and proffer an opinion on the matter. Though Brother Trouten didn’t understand or even accept Wilcox’s answer at the time, he eventually came to understand that Dr. Wilcox had spent so much time with Paul’s letters that over the years he developed a “Pauline mindset.” He had so deeply immersed himself in Paul’s writings that he acquired the values and thought patterns of the apostle himself.

I’ve often wondered why God didn’t just spell out every detail of every lifestyle decision we would ever face. Granted, that would amount to an incredible volume of information. But it would have made the decision-making process a lot easier than the current system of having to think and pray through 66 second-hand documents that spell out appropriate responses to seemingly irrelevant decisions, such as what to do if we find our enemy’s ox, or what to do if we suspect our food may have been “blessed” by a false god.

I have never faced either one of these specific decisions, but I have found that the challenging process of prying beneath the words of Scripture to discover the underlying principle has both tested and deepened my commitment to know who God really is. And the exacting process of translating the underlying principle into a specific, personal situation has both challenged and deepened my commitment to surrender fully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And the inner sense that accompanies this process—the sense that I am fulfilling and not just keeping the Law—is an intensely satisfying and joyful experience.

What I have presented in this essay is a brief method that might be used in order to understand the mind and will of God in specific lifestyle decisions that are not clearly spelled out in Scripture. Let me close by reminding the reader that unless someone has a heart for God and a deep hunger for God’s way—unless there is a fully surrendered life that is committed actually to doing the will of God, this—or any other formula—will not work. But this is a method that will work for the surrendered Christian who possesses a heart of full devotion to God—at least, that’s what I think Paul would say!

—Ben Durr, Jr., is a member of the faculty, Division of Ministerial Education, God’s Bible School and College.