An amnesty for “should”

I’m declaring an amnesty.  I’d encourage Christians everywhere who have been overusing and misusing the word “should” to the dictionary.  This is a word that we probably only want to use sparingly and under close supervision!

I’ve just been reading a blog article that sets out the author’s views on what he perceives to be a weakness within Evangelicalism.  He moves from there to a list of “shoulds.”    There are certain things that the Evangelical church and local evangelical churches should be doing. 

Whilst this can frequently happen when it comes to the wider church scene, it can also happen in the local church. In both contexts, some people become very passionate about this or that issue and then become convinced that if the Church isn’t actively supporting and involved in it then this implies that The Church doesn’t understand, hasn’t thought about or even doesn’t care about the issue.  There is usually an expectation that we should be dedicating more time, more teaching and more money to the specific issue.

Now, there are a few ways in which the word can be used. It can be used in the sense of “here is some wise advise” though with a very strong sense that you ought to follow it.  It can also be used to talk about what is probable as in “it should rain today”, However, it is also too closely associated with the idea that there is an obligation to do something.

The problem is that this is a form of legalism because we are often being told that we should be doing things that may not be bad in themselves but are not things that God’s Word says that we must do.  Things are being demanded of us that Christ does not demand of us. Furthermore, these things can end up being set in competition with the one specific thing that Jesus does call and commission us to do, to make disciples.

So, I am asking you to return the word should. We can use it when (and only when) Christ specifically tells us that we ought to be doing something. In return I offer you the word “could”.