Four Questions
by Kathy Brown on July 29th, 2009 | 1 comment
My year studying with the Centurion Program was remarkable in many ways. One of the most important things I learned didn’t have to do with information gathered. Rather, it was a habit I began to develop that has helped me to become a better listener. It is not complicated, but it requires a different approach to conversations. I have hopes that someday it will become an easy routine rather than an intentional effort . This lesson I am trying to practice is to ask questions.
There are four questions that every serious person confronts in their life which elicit profound thinking. They are worded something like this:
(1)Where did I come from/how did I get here?
(2)Why is there evil in the world/how did things go so wrong?
(3)What can I do to make things better/what is my purpose in the world?
(4)What happens to me when I die/what comes next?
It is remarkable how differently every human being processes these ordinary quandaries of life. One college student from China told me that her family did not allow her to talk about where she came from (question #1). My Muslim friend believes that black angels and white angels sit on her shoulders, and she hopes the white ones outnumber the black ones (question #2). One of my relatives thinks that the government is the solution to humanity’s ills (question #3). I have never been to a funeral where anyone lamented that the deceased went someplace bad (question #4).
Before I came to faith in the God of the Bible, I made similar conclusions that conflicted with the Truth. My heart yearned to know and figure out what was really going on. I had come up with my own explanations, concocted by my experience and a selfish desire to orient the world to advantage myself. It took a very unique Plan to draw me into another way of thinking.
It has been so helpful and comforting to know that there is Someone working, with more patience and ability than I, to bring satisfying answers to those around me. My small part in this scheme is to nudge along the thoughtful. Not with pontification, but with a question posed as an empathetic fellow traveler along the road.
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Kathy Brown July 29th, 2009
For more on this subject: http://www.rethinkingworldview.com/2009/02/my-review-of-living-at-the-crossroads.html
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