Bonhoeffer: Don't Act on a Whim

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Live life on a whim, and you’re likely to find the results unpleasant sometimes. I once decided – yes, on a whim – to go to Tupelo’s Ballard Park for our annual July Fourth fireworks display. In recent years, I’ve seen and heard a lot of the fireworks from the street where I live, not a mile away as the eagle flies.

But, after living in Tupelo for 23 years, I figured it was about time I experienced the event up close and personal. The park covers 100+ acres, with concert stage, walking trails, skate park, lake, museum, and dozens of ball fields. The “bombs bursting in air” top off the day, dazzling crowds estimated as high as 15,000. (City population about 35,000.)

The park boasts 600 parking spaces. A crowd of 15,000 people probably arrive in four-to-five thousand vehicles. Even so, I had little trouble finding a parking space on the shoulder of an access road. I was sure it would later put me quickly out onto West Main for my five-minute drive home.

Wrong. It took 48 minutes to get out of the park and another 20 minutes of slow traffic to get back to my house. That’s right – 68 minutes to travel what was normally a 5-minute drive.

Lesson learned. It’s wise to consider all of the possible consequences before I act on a whim. In more critical circumstances – situations of life and death, situations with spiritual import or moral implications, it is imperative that we consider the possible consequences before acting on a whim.

Soon after that park experience, I came across Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s wisdom on whims. The legendary Lutheran pastor was martyred because of his stand for Christ.

In his book Ethics, he offered a potent prescription for the Christ follower to consider when making decisions: “Dare to do what is right, not swayed by the whim of the moment.”

His guidelines are well summarized by these practices:

1. Dare to do what is right.

2. Get a good, firm grasp on what is true and real.

3. Don’t just think about it. Take action.

4. Get involved in the tempest of life.

Of course, Bonhoeffer lived and died by those principles. Active in the German resistance against Nazism during World War II, he was arrested in 1943. At age 39, he was martyred by hanging in April 1945 because he stood firm for his Christian faith.

His advice is still a worthy template for all who wish to follow Christ. Discard any whim that might sap our strength or weaken our faith-based stand. Hold to what we know is true and real.

Our political freedoms exist because of our forefathers’ decisive and dangerous stand against British tyranny. Likewise, spiritual freedoms come as we act on our faith. Only to the degree by which we become involved in our culture will we have greater impact for Christ.

Bonhoeffer’s principles pretty much reflect the teachings of God’s Word, don’t they? Be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16). Be strong and courageous (1 Chronicles 19:13). Take up your cross daily and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23).

Live for Him. Take a stand for Christian principles in the community. Uphold moral values in government. A bold and visible stand is not always an easy decision. Not always safe. Not always fair. But the consequences are worth it – a better society here and now, and eternal life hereafter.

Heed Bonhoeffer’s challenge: “Come out into the tempest of living.”

Editor’s note: This commentary is adapted from the author’s “Into the Tempest of Living,” first published by AFA in 2006.

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