The Bible is absolutely crystal-clear on at least three things...

by Dan Phillips

Practicality, then, is (A) Biblical, and (B) light-years removed from....Pragmatism

1.The Christian's goal must be to please God (Deuteronomy 6:5f.; Matthew 6:1-6, 33; 1 Corinthians 10:31; 1 Peter 1:13-17, etc.).

2.Doing what pleases God may be the direct cause of temporal disaster.

3.Doing what pleases God will be the direct cause of eternal delight.

Be perfectly clear: doing what pleases God, in the right way and from the right heart, may result in —

•Getting murdered by your brother for honoring God in faith

•Being hated by the most powerful in the land for telling God's truth

•Having people run away from your preaching (i.e. a small congregation) because you preach the truth straight

•Being out of sync with your spouse for remaining faithful to God

•Being framed, slandered, and killed for remaining loyal to your family

•Seeing your good name destroyed because of your love for Christ

•Having co-workers start a vicious slander-and-ouster campaign because of your godly excellence

•Being abused, even physically, to doing right in God's eyes

•Enduring a life of persecution, deprivation, and temporal misery

Of course, that's just a sampling. But it is enough to condemn pragmatism once and for all.