No Person Beyond Critique

There is no person in life past or present, save Jesus, who is beyond some critique.  We often understand this intellectually, but practically it often comes out that this or that person we view as completely beyond any critique.

It is easy for us to glorify people as beyond critique.  It is our nature to wish to have people to look to past or present who cannot err.  It makes things simple.

The reality is that all people are fallen and have issues.  If someone has a critique of a figure we respect it does not make the person our enemy.  The person's critique may be completely off base but it does not make the thinking of the person unworthy of listing to necessarily.

You see too often we judge a person's thought so quickly.  Oh they like reading Karl Barth and I don't like Barth therefore they aren't worth talking to.  Or they are fond of reading Vanhoozer and I like Vanhoozer therefore they are worth talking to.

It is subtle and rarely so blatant but often we judge a thinker by who they like before we hear what they have to say.  It is not that who a person likes to read had no influence on who the person is, but rather we may find many people who enjoy reading similar figures as ourselves who have nothing of value to say and many people who enjoy reading people we are skeptical of who have much of value to say.

You see who a person likes to read or finds interesting to read is of little importance compared to what a person thinks and does.  We often judge people for the most odd reasons.  Of course we are fallen but the more we accept that we do make odd decisions and have done so the less prone we become to make odd decisions in the future.

We often need to wait and see.  We often judge too early in a conversation if a person's thought will or will not be good and thus we often err in our judgement.

Bible Reading: Are Read-It-In-a-Year Plans Wise?

There are many "read through the Bible in a year" Bible reading plans available for free, but have you ever been able to follow one for more than two weeks? A month? Some people do, and it might work for them. But it's important to not pressure ourselves to follow a set plan when it comes to the Bible.

For instance, during a day's reading, there may be a passage that you find you really need to think about. If you do, you may miss the time allotted for finishing the rest of the chapters listed for that day. If this happens enough times, you're stuck with feeling the need to read a large number of chapters in a row, in order to catch up on previous days' assignments in the Bible reading plan.

The Bible is the Word of God. When we read it, we should aim to really listen to what it has to say--to really think about it and try to understand it, and that can take time.

We should also be sincere instead of forcing ourselves. As children of God, we will desire at times to read his Word. A plan may force us into doing something we really don't want to do at that moment.

It doesn't need to be a race to get through it as fast as we can. We may hear someone say how they read the Bible in a year and desire to do that because it sounds wonderful. But honestly what's most important for us in reading the Bible is being sincere and ready to think and listen. That includes openness to it taking as much time as needed.

Entertainment Choices: TV and Reading

Post by
Michelle Dowell, Co-Contributor

I've written about how it's important to think and talk about good things as the Bible tells us--and so it should be with TV and reading. Possibly the reason we are so ready to share sad stories for no other reason than it's a sad story is possibly that we just do that for entertainment--so why not in our thoughts and conversations, too.

Some people might think that by watching sad stories they're learning how to help or relate to people in that type of situation. However, I'm not sure that's really the result. A person who is going through a tough time doesn't need to hear "I know what you're going through, I read or watched a story where the main character went through this!" What that person needs is a friend who is simply loving them--being there to listen and sometimes to talk, and really getting to know them.

The reason and solution for things is often more simple than we'd like to think. The reason that sad things happen is we are a part of a fallen world. The way to help as much as we can is to follow God's direction for our lives, which includes loving everyone and making wise choices.

That doesn't mean that we only can watch or read stories where nothing bad happens. Often stories are ones where something bad happens and then a hero helps things be better. It's fighting some evil and feeling hope.

Stories also help us understand our culture more and/or laugh. This is good too if done appropriately.

TV in itself isn't bad. We need to use discernment and be selective, of course, just like with books that we read. When we were children we may have been read stories at night. TV is often stories that are told to us little by little--the same type of thing in some sense. The content might be somewhat different. But people love to hear stories of people who have hope and create some change in difficult situations. Or stories that make us laugh and understand things more.

Thomas Watson Quote About Books

"Get books into your houses, when you have not the spring near you, then get water into your cisterns; so when you have not that wholesome preaching that you desire, good books are cisterns that hold the water of life in them to refresh you.... So when you find a chillness upon your souls, and that your former heat begins to abate, ply yourselves with warm clothes, get those good books that may acquaint you with such truths as may warm and affect your hearts." (Thomas Watson - 1662)