Change.
Sound bytes are abundant but nuance is scarce.
Certainty is abundant but humility is scarce.
Shallow thinking is abundant but deep thinking is scarce.
Confirming our biases is abundant but challenging our assumptions is scarce.
There are forces all around us that are trying to keep things this way, but by following these three small steps we can resist these forces.
Scrutinize 3°Deeper
Explore 3° Wider
Expand your circle 3% Bigger
Small steps are important because sustaining is more important than getting off to a fast start only to crash and burn.
Deeper
We don’t need to become scholarly theologians.
We don’t need to become policy experts.
We must simply scrutinize 3° deeper than we are currently.
Some ideas on how to go 3 degrees deeper:
Read articles rather than the intentionally provocative headlines.
Listen to the whole podcast with an open mind.
Read books not just reviews.
“We can’t outsource our discernment”- Skye Jethani
Wider
We don’t need to watch both MSNBC and Fox News
We don’t need to read every article or social media post.
We just can’t reject everything that doesn’t reinforce our existing beliefs about that particular topic and we must choose things that will challenge us in each direction.
60° differences in each direction will only reinforce how crazy the other side is.
Status quo will continue to demonize everyone who is different than us.
No matter our starting point three degrees in each direction will make us more understanding and compassionate for why someone sees things differently.
If we do this with humility our current status quo may change continually, requiring us to intentionally expose ourselves to new sources in ever changing 3 degree increments. The goal is not to become incrementally accepting of all things but rather to have enough humility to be changed if change is required and to continually be challenged.
Some ideas on how to go 3 degrees wider:
Expand news sources
Expand social media follows then follow who they follow
Expand podcasts by three degrees in each direction.
Bigger
We are kicking people out of our tribes if they reveal to us that they are not one of us. Being one of us increasingly means that we are not perfectly aligned on all things big and small. Sometimes we are simply opting out ourselves. We shouldn’t stay in groups that ask us to compromise too much of ourselves to be a part of it, but we should expand our circle by 3% rather than constricting it. None of us want to believe we do this, but honest reflection will reveal we do more than we want to admit.
How:
Join a new group (in real life or social media) that will stretch us
Stay in a group we are tempted to leave
Reconnect with a friend you had ‘quit’
To be honest I wish I had better prescriptions for how to do each of these things, but I trust that if we commit to doing it we will figure out how.
If we do these three things we may be able to join with Jesus in flipping these four polarities and make what was once scarce now abundant.
From Sound bytes to Nuance
Six times in the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) Jesus says “You have heard that it was said _______(Sound byte) but I say ______ (nuance)”
For example Mathew 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”
From Certainty to Humility
The Pharisees (men) in John chapter 8 were certain about what should happen to the woman they had caught in the act of adultery when they brought her to Jesus. Masterfully Jesus flipped the script and the men humbly dropped their rocks and walked away knowing they too had sinned.
Or in Matthew 7 when Jesus says; “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
From Shallow Thinking to Deep Thinking
Jesus himself tells us that he spoke in parables precisely to help his followers think more deeply.
In Romans Pauls tells us “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind….”
From Confirming our Biases to Challenging our Assumptions
Jesus wasn’t interested in confirming the disciples’ biases for them.
After a particularly hard teaching in John chapter 6 it says;
“From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
If we are to follow in the way of Jesus we will think deeply and humbly and will expand rather than restrict our circles.
If this is at all intriguing to you I highly recommend Skye Jethani’s easy to read book on Jesus’ sermon on the mount. What If Jesus Was Serious?: A Visual Guide to the Teachings of Jesus We Love to Ignore.
For a deeper look I am fascinated by Jim Wilder’s work on brain science and discipleship in Renovated
I also look forward to reading Adam Grant’s new book Think Again