The "Ought" Verses The "Is"

Last evening, Del Tackett, talked about the "ought" verses the "is."  He was trained as a fighter pilot in the Air Force and he told us about his training.  They were taught to read the gauges in their planes and to trust their instruments and to notice when the "is" wasn't what it "ought" to be, so they could take steps to correct the problem.

He spoke of Apollo 13 and how the astronauts as well as Mission Control all know what "ought" to be as well.  When they had the oxygen tank blow on their rocket, they were able to handle the situation because they had been trained.  They KNEW things were NOT as they OUGHT to be.   They didn't pretend like it didn't happen, they didn't wait until a more convenient time to pay attention to it.  

They didn't know right away what had happened but they knew something had.  Their instruments and gauges were telling them so (as well as that loud explosion!).  Both the crew and the ground control guys were able to figure out how to best get things back to where they ought to be in order to get them home safely.

In order for us to know how things "ought" to be we must be in God's word.  We must learn truth, so when even we ourselves start getting away from where we ought to be, we can recognize it.

That's a hard one, isn't it?  Because it is so subtle sometimes, the moving away from sound doctrine, etc.  Churches do this, too.  It's never a huge leap away from truth, but as the Nickel Creek song says, "quiet steps away from your lead," until finally they are far from Biblical truth.

When we lose the Meta-Narrative then "I" am the source of truth.

I know that I am going to be pondering this "ought" verses "is" for sometime.