Perhaps even the most important part. A portion of wisdom lies in knowing that.
A portion of courage lies in going on anyway." -Robert Jordan
The beauty of knowledge, and specifically wisdom, I believe lies in humility and honesty. Wisdom occurs when we can weigh the reality of opposing facts, view points, ideals, perceptions, and emotions independently of our prejudices. I have a hard time with people that know everything. You know the type of people that I am talking about, they tell you what to think and why. They tell you why you and everyone else is wrong but why they are right. I have a low tolerance for these types of people because of the ignorance that such behavior represents. I hope that I am always questioning, always open to new ideas and new ways of looking at old things. I think the lack of this type of thinking in the church is exactly what hamstrings her to the past. Can we be alright with the fact that we will never arrive. We will never get it all right, and as soon as we think we do we will need to reinvent. Why?, because we aren't the end, our ways of thinking aren't the final authority, we are part of a story that God is writing. The story of His church, the followers of the way, is in process. There has been evolution, revolution, and reformation. And guess what everyone? There will still be major changes, in theology, in doctrine, in ecclesiology, and missiology. Because we aren't God, we don't know everything, times will change, cultures will change, and the modes, methods and models of getting to know God on a personal level will change. So bask in uncertainty and ambiguity knowing that God will reveal how to reach His people for today, today and for those tomorrow, tomorrow.
3 comments:
Jim, you said you have a hard time with people who know it all. That must mean that you have a particulary difficult time with me! hahah jk.
good post :)
Jim,
You and I have already begun this discussion and I don't intend on finishing it here. I know, that sucks for those that weren't part of our conversation and, yes, I realize that it is counter-productive to this whole blogging thing. The real purpose, however, for this post is to let you, and whoever else might care, know that I have been broken and I am giving in to the internet hysteria. In laymen's terms, I have a blog. Here is the link:
http://soitdoesntspoil.blogspot.com
That's all for now.
So your deep thought forum has now attracted another blog. Congrats on the new comments & on the conversion of Erik. Between the two of you, I'm able to take a philosophy course for free! By the way, we are literally surrounded by those who think they know everything and have nothing left to learn. Maybe it's just the fear of admitting "I don't have it all figured out yet....but shouldn't I have by now?" They work very hard to cover up their fears of being discovered. I'm afraid of these people.
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