ALI SPOKE TRUTH

"The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life." ― Muhammad Ali

I would venture to say the same thing is true of a person who views faith the same at 50. 

I have no doubt many believers would disagree. I think most implicitly take utter consistency over the long haul as the height of holiness and piety.

I suppose it could be - assuming you lucked out and grew up in the perfect church with the perfect doctrine and pitch-perfect balance in all things. And not a single false view of God or Scripture ever took root in your imagination.

But if that wasn't your experience, then holding to the same faith at 50 as you did at 20 isn't admirable. 

It means you've stagnated. A long time ago.

 

FOOLING OURSELVES

“It takes inordinate courage to introspect, to confront oneself, to accept one’s limitations—scientists are seeing more and more evidence that we are specifically designed by mother nature to fool ourselves.”  -Nassim Taleb

What some blame on mother nature or evolution, seems reasonably explained as the result of fallen human nature as well. 

Nearly indetectable from the inside, the human ability to fool oneself is nearly unlimited in its scope. 

This makes for another prime argument in favor of cultivating a true humility in the face of holy Scripture. A "beginner's mindset" that has no problem with admitting, "I may well be wrong."

I suppose one of the reasons Calvinism fascinates me is that its adherents firmly hold the belief that the unregenerate are incapable of understanding any spiritual truth from Scripture but they - the elect - see all with perfect clarity. 

They regularly give the impression of believing themselves to be inerrant in their interpretation of God's word.

And, like the Pharisees before them, they perpetually miss the big picture and inadvertently paint God as a complete monster.

It is a profound tragicomedy. 

HUMILITY AND LEARNING

Wise observations from psychiatrist Thomas Szasz on the connection between humility and learning:

"Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily; and why older persons, especially if vain or important, cannot learn at all."

Is this part of what Jesus means when he says we must become as little children? 

Because education is so important for the believer, a humble "beginner's mindset" is a powerful tool for growth. 

But what a bear - first to establish and then to maintain.