Harnessing Curiosity

What is your definition of curiosity? Is it digging for answers, is it searching for the truth, is it seeking the right direction, the right path? Is it nosiness? Is it sticking your nose in other people’s business, where it doesn’t belong?  It’s those voices in our heads making us curious.
We’ve learned this week that yes, indeed, be curious.  Asking questions is good – better than not asking them.  Better than being abdicated as we learned from watching Stay Curious by Gabe Lyons.  He states that we learn more by asking questions, than if you are being told what to think.
Jesus, as a 12-year-old was searching for answers too in Sunday’s message based on Luke 2:41-52. Here Jesus, with his parents Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, and when his parents departed, unknown to them, Jesus stayed behind in the temple, with the teachers, asking questions of them. When his parents found him three days later, he said to them, “Why are you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”  Jesus sat, listened, then engaged in conversation, regarding the teachings of the Holy Bible.
With today’s advancement in science and technology, medicine and our ever-changing environment, sometimes it seems scary, but as Gabe Lyons states “It’s all part of God’s emerging world that we are to discover. Embrace it”, he says.  Now more than ever before, we need to be aware of the importance of discernment in our age of information.   At times we are frustrated, even angry with constant change. It’s our curiosity, or questions, that can be the best antidote to the issues at hand. If we only could trust and believe what others always tell us then we wouldn’t have to think, but are they as concerned with our wellbeing, our future?  He said “We as Christian’s have to be showing up. Through our faith, it can speak to any topic, but first we need to understand Truth.”
In watching What Jesus Said about God – Is there a Higher Power? It addressed the misconception of many who in their personal beliefs of God have varying answers. Some are Agnostic, can’t know, hopeless pursuit; others believe in Relevant Truth, it’s what you want to believe as true;  or Naturalist, can’t see it, can’t touch it, or experience it from the five senses, then must not be; Atheists, there is no God; and Theist, who believe that God does exist, plus many more viewpoints of what some people believe.  That’s why it’s very much important to know what you believe and why you believe what you do.  As you engage in this world through its changes, through conversation with others, we can stand for Truth as we engage in the learning process, to draw wisdom through our questions asked. So that we can apply our own best judgement.
In the series Jesus the Ultimate Gift,  Missionaries in New Guinea studied the Sawi language by living among the natives. The missionaries learned their belief was that to betray, and then kill a friend was an honorable trait. They honored Judas for killing Jesus, Hero worship. Also, that warring parties would offer a child to the other tribe as a peace offering, a peace child, that future bloodshed would be averted.  This dialogue, learning from each other, digging deeper, drawing wisdom, enabled the missionaries to evoke change in the belief system of the Sawi people. Today 2/3 of the Sawi people put their faith in Jesus the Christ, the Ultimate Peace Child.
There’s an old saying – Curiosity Killed the Cat – because the cat was foolish, blinded, a happy-go-lucky kind of animal. Curiosity does not kill – Curiosity builds – Curiosity draws thinking minds towards wisdom – Curiosity opens doors for multiple opportunities to share God’s Truth, God’s love for all his creation, and for us to be Christians Soldiers, peacemakers.  So, don’t be timid in your engaging, silent in your stand for Truth, but ask questions, learn,  be involved  and supportive of change, while sharpening your discernment skills to speak while standing for what and who we believe in.

Larry & Darlene