Trust But Verify: Never Underestimate The Necessity To Ask ‘Why’?
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(15) The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps. (18) The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.’ (Proverbs 14:15 & 18)
I read a blog awhile back that on its home page stated, ‘Never underestimate the power of a question’. One example, if you’re a Trekkie, was Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, one of the lesser renown movies in the Star Trek franchise (in terms of plot, special effects, script – basically it was just a bad movie). In it, the Enterprise – with Captain Kirk, Spock, Dr. McCoy, etc. on it – was ‘starship-jacked’ by Spock’s emotionally-charged brother (who was supposed to have stoic logic but gave it up for whatever reason). Spock’s brother believed God lived in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy and took the ship there to a hidden planet.
Upon ‘beaming down’ to the surface, they encountered ‘God’, who then demanded they hand the Enterprise over to ‘him’ so he could leave the planet. All were onboard with giving ‘God’ a lift off the planet, except for Spock, who asked the logical question, ‘why does God need a starship to leave?’. This kicked the others out of their fog over meeting ‘God’, and soon realized this was not ‘God’, but a malevolent being who was imprisoned on the planet and needed the ship to make a jail break. The being then tried by force to take the ship but in the end Kirk and company, with the Enterprise and a Klingon ship that was tailing them, took out the being.
The movie itself (or the Star Trek franchise as a whole) is not an uplifting Christian message by any means, but the point is the importance to question and confirm what we often see in front of us, what we may take at face value. Had Spock not asked the question, ‘why?’, the Enterprise would have been taken, and this creature would have escaped and likely wreaked havoc all over the place (not to mention ending any further Star Trek movies or TV series being made, much to the chagrin and detriment of the careers of William Shatner and Patrick Stewart).
Proverbs 14 has a couple of verses that discuss the importance of critical thinking, or to ask and confirm what is confronting them. In today’s reality (not a made-up futuristic story like Star Trek), we are bombarded with sound-bites, video-clips, and written words that are purported to be the ‘truth’, even the Word-of-the-Day blog fits in this category. What makes any of these (including the WOTD) ‘true’? That question is the first step in critically evaluating whether any are true or not. Whether a statement from any media is true or not should be looked at through the five ‘W’s’, or ‘Who, What, When, Why, and Where’ (and one ‘H’, or ‘How’, can be added to the list).
The ‘simple’ person or people, referred to in verses 15 and 18, are those who believe statements without examining them through the lenses of the five W’s. If I stated, for example, ‘the taco is not Mexican but Canadian in origin’; some may believe this outright and parrot or repeat it as truth. Others may be skeptical but since they don’t eat tacos won’t examine the statement and concede its truth. A few may ask, ‘why would a taco originate from Canada? Where did the taco originate from, and when?’ Doing some quick research would find the taco is Mexican in origin, likely pre-Spanish and either Mayan or Aztec in its creation. So, my ‘sound-bite’ of ‘Tacos are Canadian’ is not the truth and found to be so with a little investigation.
It is important to examine information received with the five W’s. In Biblical terms, it should be expected for Christians to examine for themselves the accuracy of what is being preached or taught. In the writing of this blog, the teaching of a Life Group class, and the occasional privilege to preach, I don’t expect to have everyone fully believe what I say; some may do so out of their experience and knowledge, but I do anticipate and welcome questions on what I present. I try to help in providing Scriptural references (like Proverbs 14:15 & 18 in this blog post) to bolster my statements and help others read what I am basing the writing upon. The answers are within Scriptures and the discretion of the Holy Spirit. Examine the Truth through God’s Word and use the direction of the Spirit to determine the Truth.
We often provide the Gospel message to others as a sound-bite, but don’t provide help in giving clues on the ‘5 W’s’. Some will hear the Gospel and believe; others may be skeptical. Don’t be afraid or concerned over questions; a non-believer is going to questioning why we believe Jesus is the way to Salvation. We can tell them and then give them the clues to look and research for themselves. The Truth will always be found if someone only searches for it. Remember, God never needs a starship to move in anyone’s life, but someone needs the Truth to gain Faith and understand why they need to move toward Him.
