At some time or another we all have probably engaged in some type of debate. What may have started out as conversation or discussion at some point simply has the potential to become a debate. Why? 
The truth of the matter is that we simply don’t all see eye to eye on everything; it’s true in politics, religion, Christianity, child rearing, and our sense of social justice, to name the few ideas that come to mind. Depending on the demeanor of a person or as I prefer to relate to; the Fruits of the Spirit (Galations 5:22-23) operating in one’s life, debates can end on a civil and respectful note, while differing or they can erupt into heated differences when the Fruits of the Spirit are absent.
This post however is not over the Fruits of the Spirit, it’s actually about what happens sometimes at the end of a debate or discussion and
some related rambling(s). You know what I’m talking about… you and your “opponent” are sparring back and forth on a topic. They shoot you a jab, you counter. You’re on the defensive, shielding off the oral jabs that your “opponent” is throwing, you dodge, you bob, you weave. Uh oh, here comes a haymaker.. up with your dukes! You get a couple counter punches in here and there, maybe a body-shot to wind ‘em…. “Ooooh, that one had to hurt!” Now you got ‘em Crawdadding back into their corner. And then… nothing.
For all of the punches you land, nothing. You and your opponent walk out of the ring, a little bruised. And then the next day, you get to mentally replay the “fight”, and you realize that if you had said this or if you had bought up this point, maybe it would have been the landing “punch” to persuade your “opponent” to see things your way.
The analogy I gave was a cryptic recounting of my experience yesterday after presenting some facts to someone concerning Bible prophecy. That story is still developing and perhaps one day; God willing, I’ll be able to expand on it. Until then… on with the rest of the story.
So after merely presenting some facts, and making clear that my intention was just that, to give the facts. I found myself being witnessed to, at least that’s how I took it. Anywho… no big deal (The Holy Spirit & discernment are blessings!), I cautiously listened, or rather I heard the argument made, and watched for “holes” in the presentation. Now of course there comes the question & answer segment, where questions are proposed to me in the manner “Now having read that, doesn’t it make sense to you that the Bible does not teach or say _____ (insert your own take here).
Now some would say that when a Christian closes their mind to ideas, doctrine or something that’s counter to what they understand and what they believe, that they the Christian, are operating with a closed mind. I suppose that there is some truth to that argument, then again, I’m not sure that Scripture tells us that we are to have an “open mind”. By “open mind” ,I’m referring to, a broad world view sense of studying or rather using scripture with the mind only, versus studying Scripture with an open heart.
With an “open mind”, I’d be willing to bet that I could rationalize just about whatever I wanted to in Scripture, to make it fit my desires. Speaking of “open mindedness”, reminds me of the popular quote: “A mind is like a parachute, it’s only good when its open”
While in the military, I was in a Sports Parachute Club, & here’s what I learned one day about parachutes, as I watched a fellow jumper plow into a parked car on the Drop Zone at 30 MPH. That parachute was open and operating; but he failed to maintain control of his parachute, so he drifted into and collided with a hazard on the DZ.
1st Timothy 4:13-16 (KJV),
13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. 15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. 16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
So having this event take place yesterday prompted a recollection, no.. actually I was in the shower when all of this hit me. So, I started to remember back to the lean day$, shortly after separating from the military.
I went into $ale$ for a while, first at Radio Shack (Hmm? That’s gonna be another post), then I had a friend from high school days that got me on with a local car dealership. I only lasted in that racket job for about six months. I was a terrible salesman!
Looking back at that experience, I now realize that I didn’t understand how to pro$per in that game, because it often required a certain finesse for creating your own truth to make the $ale. See part of the pitch is that you had to either appeal to the customer’s vanity or their sense of logic, all the while using circular “logic” tactics, to get the customer past the fact that they were paying $20,000 for a car (circa 1997). You had to move them out of the mind set that they were paying 20K, and have them focus instead, on only a $330 a month payment. What I knew going into the “main event”, what I left with still in my heart, and what I left for my “opponent” to consider was this: God can not be constrained to the limited mental faculties of man. The moment that your view of God becomes less than Him being exalted above all things, you risk creating your idol. Applying man’s logic in an effort to understand or explain God, does Him no glory; to which we are obligated to give unto Him.
1st Corinthians 1: 21-25 (KJV)
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 23 but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 24 but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 25 because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Grace and peace be with you.
