“Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.”
Much of human existence seems to be the pursuit of answers. Pursuit of the right answers. We have to find the right spouse, the right house, the right job, the right city, the right denomination, the right church, the right hobby, and so on, and so on, and so on. Ad nauseum.
We’ve made education the regurgitation of right answers. In our faith, we have to associate ourselves with the right theology. We have to be associated with the right political party, and for much of the people I find myself surrounded by, that side is even named the “right.”
We’re convinced there are right answers to most of life, and we just have to find them. This comes from a desire for certainty, a desire for stability. We need answers because they set our lives right. They make us feel secure because everything is known.
Think about how we approach our advisors - our doctors, our lawyers, our counselors. We go to them for answers. We want a diagnosis. The correct legal remedy. The solution. And we get very uncomfortable when the answer is “we don’t know.”
We’re really uncomfortable with the unknown. With the uncertain. We blow past the “we don’t know” to finally get to an answer. We get second and third and fourth opinions. Or in situations where there is truly no right answer, we seek to make one. We look for signs and find them in the smallest coincidences. We make a right answer. We reduce things to black and white, we simplify so we can understand.
I don’t know, but of late, I’m getting more comfortable with questions. I’m getting more comfortable with “I don’t know.”
To me, the truth is, questions are just more interesting.
Because questions lead to all sorts of interesting experiences.
We know this as kids. Children live in a state of constant “why?” It’s intellectual curiosity that continues to propel them into discovery, into experience, and into the unknown.
Perhaps today, of all days, on this monumental change in our society, questions are more important than ever. There are titanic questions hanging in the ephemera, spoken and unspoken, that are filling our collective unconsciousness.
Questions that matter.
That are shaping the direction of our future. Questions that will be imperative to discuss and evaluate.
I say evaluate and discuss because it’s important to note we may not get to one right answer. There may be no one specific answer that is right and everything else is wrong. We may be able to identify a lot of wrong answers, but there may be a lot of ambiguity we still have to live with.
These questions are being raised through online social media. Through news broadcasts and media. Through dining room discussion.
They are popping up whether we recognize them or not. And some are even trending as questions on our search histories.
Questions like -
- What is an oligarchy?
- What is fascism?
- What is a Christian?
- What is masculinity?
- Why does it matter?
- How do we proceed?
Heady. Deep. Though provoking. Unanswerable? Charged. Divisive.
All descriptions above could apply to these questions. And all are reasons why the questions must be discussed.
So for the next several posts, that’s what I intend to do. To raise the question, to explore why it’s being asked, and to address my thoughts on the question. I ran a series in 2020 called Big Questions. That focused on questions of faith. Questions like, do my resolutions benefit only me, does my church look primarily just like me, who is my gospel excluding, and am i willing to yield?
Today starts Big Questions 2025. And I hope you will be along for the ride. We have to be able to discuss these things, to disagree on points, and come to resolutions. To recognize the question behind the question and to help each other along in faith and love.
If we don’t, if we can’t, what are we even doing here?
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