Our culture is descending toward a place of decision – a decision of life or death.  Sadly, the deception of those at the controls is leading us to a crash point that could be avoided if wisdom was piloting the craft of their decision-making.

When I used to fly there were times when I needed to file an instrument flight plan to descend through the clouds to make a safe landing. In those instrument approaches, I would be flying through a cloud layer unable to see any cues from my surrounding environment. Remaining focused on my instruments and not succumbing to the influence of vertigo would lead me to a safe landing. In a spiritual sense, faith is the instrument system that helps us overcome the influences of a world led not by truth, but by the confused consensus of deception. This is not something isolated to the broader society. It also applies to the Church and those who lead her.

On an instrument approach, there is something called “minimums.” This is the point where a pilot decides to land or call a missed approach. To go below minimums without seeing the runway and its lighting system and assuming all is well is a prescription for disaster. That choice has claimed the lives of many foolhardy pilots. Calling a missed approach is not a failure. It is wisdom. Voices of reason have been saying they will not descend below the minimums of integrity and transparency. They are calling our current descent into absurdity and unreasonableness a missed approach.

We have approached the spiritual minimums for this season. Many voices are now calling for a missed approach. These are not shrilled conspiratorial voices without reason, wisdom, or understanding. They have heard the Lord and know in this current descent that disaster and tragedy will soon take place if a missed approach is not called. These warning voices are the sound of love, not fear. We need to listen to their warning to avoid an unnecessary disaster.