My very excellent mother just ordered us nine pizzas. Well yeah, pizza is Pluto and it is no longer a planet, but I digress. This mnemonic device is how we learned our planets in grade school. Did you know that the common belief was once that planet Earth was the center of the solar system? I am sure it must have been a state-mandated test question to many educated boys back in the day. Then in the 16th century Galileo's research revealed that the Sun was in fact the center of our solar system. Good Christian folks were appalled and condemned him of heresy for his belief that the Earth moves around the sun rather than the belief that the Earth was the center of the universe. Looking back we can see his accuser’s error, but at the time they were fully convinced that the Earth was the center of the universe, felt they had biblical proof, and felt the need to push this belief on others. How we handle the information that we think we know matters!
I have noticed that it is not what we think we don’t know, but what we think we know, that is the most dangerous. I am not talking about our belief in God or any of the beliefs that keep us grounded in Christ. I am talking about the small stuff that is not directly addressed in scripture. And honestly, that is what the enemy uses so often to trip Christians up. It is when we stubbornly cling to our personal beliefs even though the evidence is questionable, that presents the problem. It is when our minds are snapped shut, unable to contemplate anything outside of our small world that is the big issue.
Have you ever taken a moment to consider what you don't know? This can be very humbling. There are so many books I have not read. So many places I have not traveled and cultures I have never experienced that it makes my head spin. How can any one person, in all the days of his life, hope to understand even a small corner of this world we live in? Consider the mystery of time. How can a single day in pain seem longer than the time it takes Earth to travel around the sun? Or how can time with the ones we love move faster than greased lightning? And how about anticipation? I know Carole King sang about it, but what is better—planning and imagining that sought-after event, or the actual event? So many times my anticipation is so much more fun than the actual event! Another mystery is human thought. “What were they thinking?” That is often my question when watching the evening news. Thoughts really do rule us, yet where do they come from and where do they go when they are never voiced and are forgotten? After all, we can never fully understand the person that spends a lifetime next to us so how can we expect to understand people who speak another language, live in a different continent and never share the same experiences? There is so much any one human can’t know. Even the most brilliant minds could not begin to scratch the surface.
Jesus taught about how to handle the information we think we know, information that is dictated by our culture in which we live. When a woman who was caught in adultery by the teachers of the law, was brought before Jesus, he did not try to straighten out the accusers' thinking on the subject. They wanted to stone her, because that was the belief and practice of that society. Jesus’ response was not to point out that "it takes two to tango" nor did he forcefully demand that they not stone her for her crime. In his divine wisdom, he did the following. John 8:7 NIV[7] When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” When they all dropped their stones and left, the perfect Jesus, who had every right, did not condemn her either. So if Galileo’s accusers simply followed the example of Jesus, and dropped their accusations, that travesty would not have happened.
It is when I have a firm conviction or point of view that I am in danger of making the gravest of errors. I am talking about convictions that are not directly addressed in the Bible, things that the Holy Spirit has laid on my heart for me and me personally. This may not be something that needs to be pushed on others. It may be meant for only me. We all do not need to agree on everything. Perspective is so important. I often have to remind myself that I really don’t know very much. I am here on this planet for a speck of time and my hope is that I send out ripples of Christ-like love and kindness that will continue long after my life is over. This perspective makes it easier to stop myself from making Galileo-accuser sized errors in judgement. I must drop my stone of judgement and learn to accept others as God loved and accepted me.
Lord help me remember that the Bible equates your name first and foremost with love and it is this very love that saves me from condemnation.
My very excellent mother just ordered us nine pizzas. Well yeah, pizza is Pluto and it is no longer a planet, but I digress. This mnemonic device is how we learned our planets in grade school. Did you know that the common belief was once that planet Earth was the center of the solar system? I am sure it must have been a state-mandated test question to many educated boys back in the day. Then in the 16th century Galileo's research revealed that the Sun was in fact the center of our solar system. Good Christian folks were appalled and condemned him of heresy for his belief that the Earth moves around the sun rather than the belief that the Earth was the center of the universe. Looking back we can see his accuser’s error, but at the time they were fully convinced that the Earth was the center of the universe, felt they had biblical proof, and felt the need to push this belief on others. How we handle the information that we think we know matters!
I have noticed that it is not what we think we don’t know, but what we think we know, that is the most dangerous. I am not talking about our belief in God or any of the beliefs that keep us grounded in Christ. I am talking about the small stuff that is not directly addressed in scripture. And honestly, that is what the enemy uses so often to trip Christians up. It is when we stubbornly cling to our personal beliefs even though the evidence is questionable, that presents the problem. It is when our minds are snapped shut, unable to contemplate anything outside of our small world that is the big issue.
Have you ever taken a moment to consider what you don't know? This can be very humbling. There are so many books I have not read. So many places I have not traveled and cultures I have never experienced that it makes my head spin. How can any one person, in all the days of his life, hope to understand even a small corner of this world we live in? Consider the mystery of time. How can a single day in pain seem longer than the time it takes Earth to travel around the sun? Or how can time with the ones we love move faster than greased lightning? And how about anticipation? I know Carole King sang about it, but what is better—planning and imagining that sought-after event, or the actual event? So many times my anticipation is so much more fun than the actual event! Another mystery is human thought. “What were they thinking?” That is often my question when watching the evening news. Thoughts really do rule us, yet where do they come from and where do they go when they are never voiced and are forgotten? After all, we can never fully understand the person that spends a lifetime next to us so how can we expect to understand people who speak another language, live in a different continent and never share the same experiences? There is so much any one human can’t know. Even the most brilliant minds could not begin to scratch the surface.
It is when I have a firm conviction or point of view that I am in danger of making the gravest of errors. I am talking about convictions that are not directly addressed in the Bible, things that the Holy Spirit has laid on my heart for me and me personally. This may not be something that needs to be pushed on others. It may be meant for only me. We all do not need to agree on everything. Perspective is so important. I often have to remind myself that I really don’t know very much. I am here on this planet for a speck of time and my hope is that I send out ripples of Christ-like love and kindness that will continue long after my life is over. This perspective makes it easier to stop myself from making Galileo-accuser sized errors in judgement. I must drop my stone of judgement and learn to accept others as God loved and accepted me.
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