The Art of Overcoming by Tim Timberlake

Author:Tim Timberlake
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2023-03-07T00:00:00+00:00

Be Willing to Think a Little Deeper

It’s one thing to go into an “intense conversation” (a.k.a. argument) with a mind that is open enough to let somebody else in. That’s good, and hopefully you’re able to do this when you disagree with a friend or loved one.

It’s another thing, though, to be willing to question your own deeply held beliefs or core values. That’s a deeper level of open-mindedness, and it’s one we should all aspire to. We have to be willing to question, challenge, tweak, discard, or expand the underlying worldviews we filter life through.

I’m not talking about redefining truth or saying everything is relative. Don’t get me wrong. There is such a thing as truth, and all truth comes from God. The apostle John wrote, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth” (1 John 1:5–6). Everything about God is right, true, and perfect. It’s light, not darkness. We are called to walk in that light, to walk according to his truth. The Bible itself is God’s gift of truth to us, and we are responsible to understand and apply it. Not carelessly, though, or for selfish gain. Rather, with integrity, love, and a commitment to truth.

The problem is that we carry our human fallibility into every attempt to understand truth. Even our interpretations of the Bible are likely to contain some error. That doesn’t undermine the Bible, or God, or truth itself. Instead, it reminds us that we need to stay humble. We need to accept that we might be wrong. We need to be willing to change our minds.

Some people seem incapable of doing this. No matter what facts they are presented with, no matter how many people tell them they are wrong, and no matter what consequences their wrong beliefs have caused, they refuse to rethink what they hold so dear. It feels threatening to them, like the ground they’ve always stood on is suddenly moving. If this belief falls, they subconsciously assume, then everything falls. Nothing will be solid or real or true. So they panic on the inside, raise their fists, and fight to the death for whatever they believe is true.

This is urgent, my friend. Wrong beliefs can harm people. The values and worldviews we cling to have wide-ranging effects on real humans. That should make us stop and think. It should make us seek wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, as the book of Proverbs so passionately exhorts us. If we dig in our heels to defend a pet doctrine; or we put our political views above the needs of people; or we propagate cultural, ethnic, gender, or racial stereotypes; or we fearmonger to justify and protect our lifestyles; or we weaponize Christianity to hold on to the world we’ve built for ourselves, we are building our lives on lies.

So often, the viewpoints we most loudly defend are human ones.

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