In continuing this brief blog series on prophets or posers, here is prophetic logical fallacy #2:
“If I’m clearly right on one thing (in my mind), then God must be on my side and I’m likely on the side of truth in other things as well.”
Counterpoint: You might be right about one thing, but you might be wrong about more things than you are right.
It may be human nature to fixate on one issue and then we let that issue drive us and affect how we see all the world. Call it tunnel vision, call it myopia, call it fixation…whatever it is, sometimes we can somehow draw great courage and confidence and maybe even an increased sense of authority when it seems like our position is so clearly in the right..or Biblical…or just…or whatever.
It’s always good to have a good “blind spot theology” considering how finite and limited we are in our ability to see and assess truth and reality for what it is. This fallacy is perhaps more common among younger people, younger believers who are starting to develop passions and convictions, but they just haven’t experienced enough in life and relationships and with God to understand the complexity of things and the tendency for there to be a lot of gray area in life.
I also see this being common to people who embrace rigid theological systems that lead to the inevitable black and white labeling of others according to various doctrinal positions. It’s probably also true among people who are feeling a lot of pain in their lives. In the language of my leadership circles, all of these people fail the “intellectual flexibility” test. Sometimes our intellectual flexibility is hindered in the short-term because of crisis or short-term pain, but other times many of us suffer from chronic narrow-mindedness and poor vision as it relates to things outside of ourselves and that can come from several places.
Someone functioning prophetically might very well be right and have a clear word from the Lord or insight from Scripture that brings God’s will into center focus in a clear and compelling way that demands a response. But someone truly functioning prophetically as one connected to God and His heart has the humility to recognize other perspectives and and the courage to recognize when we are speaking out with our own voice and/or issues rather than the voice of the Lord.
