You don’t think your thoughts. Neither do I.
A unique collection of beliefs, expectations, judgments, and preferences powerfully influence your thinking…all the time.
I invite you to examine the Apostle Peter when his beliefs, expectations, judgments, and preferences were under siege… by God. If you’ve walked with God for any time, you know what it is to have God attack your precious paradigms: the way you see the world and your place in it. Haven’t you?
In Acts 10 we find Peter doing his best to follow hard after Christ, even after the shock of the crucifixion and the surprise of the resurrection. Two expectation explosions in three days! The Biblical record indicates that these events were understood by the disciples only in retrospect. Not in real time.
By verse 9 of chapter 10, Peter seems to have found his equilibrium. He’s just hungry, hoping for a sandwich or something. Falling into a trance, he sees a repugnant picture and then is instructed by God to violate his belief system by eating foods that had been specifically forbidden.
So, Peter does what most every able-brained person does: he lets his paradigms think for him. His oxymoronic response: “No way, Lord!” [v. 14]
This is stage one of a paradigm shift: rejection of that which contradicts one’s paradigm. Peter, speaking to the Lord of heaven and earth, justifies his stance with: I’ve never done it that way!
So, I’ll let you in on a secret. Every paradigm shift starts with us hunkering down on what we already believe. However, if any learning is going to occur, we will choose what Peter chose: he wondered about it.
The willingness to wonder is stage two and is essential to learning.
Your willingness to be uncertain about what you think you’re certain about is central to discovery! In ministry coaching, I invite my clients to consider what they’ve not seriously pondered before. Together, we sit in the possibility, for a while. We consider that what can’t be true, or valid, or helpful actually could be. We wonder… Do you?
The discipline of wonder is essential if ever you’re to think your own thoughts. To unplug from the paradigms that have powerful, if invisible, influence on your perceptions and thinking processes… you get to choose it.
Picture a family member with whom you have a distant or strained relationship. Force yourself to wonder if, in any way, your conclusions about this person could have been drawn prematurely. See if you can uncover some of the influences that may have nudged your thinking in a particular direction. Could this person remind you of another? Is it possible that you’ve transferred your thinking about someone else onto them? Were you predisposed, somehow, to view something about this person unfavorably?
Think about the people you hold most highly. Do they possess characteristics that could encourage you to overlook less-favorable realities in their behavior?
Would it surprise you to know that a statistically stunning majority of major corporate CEO’s are taller than 6 feet? Of all their characteristics, height is more significant than IQ, education level, ethnicity, and family of origin in distinguishing this group from others.
I assert that powerful and unexamined cultural paradigms have given capable, tall men a distinct advantage over other equally capable candidates for the executive suite. Similarly, invisible paradigms color your thinking, as they did for Peter, and for the early Christian community to which he belonged.
This week, I challenge you to wonder.
Wonder about those you judge. Allow yourself to consider that quite possibly the judgments you’ve made about them are less-than-waterproof. What evidence can you find that contradicts your judgment?
Wonder about your political predispositions. See if you can come up with a reasonable rationale in opposition of one of your views.
Take note of what discoveries your willingness to wonder produces for you.
I’m grateful that Peter did.
Great post Kirk. I think it is important for us all to challenge our belief system at times – even to argue the other side for once and see what comes – for example, in the political spectrum you used as an example I can see great idea’s on both sides of the ‘divide’, yet I know which side I remain on.
On an off topic, I’ve also believed God places extremists in the world for a reason – yes, they are usually off the charts in their beliefs, but they raise the awareness to ensure balance against those who believe so strongly on the other side. (for example, the green movement vs mining and resources).
Back to the discussion though, you need to be willing to examine the other side – and it can help you relate to and minister to those people – if you don’t understand ‘the world’, you cant understand the difficulties of someone there!
Anyway, keep up the good work 😀
Drewe
Thanks Drewe for contributing!
I know for me, as a coach, getting to “neutral” (the topic of an upcoming blog) is so necessary. As humans, once we decide something about anything, we automatically begin building a case to support what we’ve decided. Like a scientist or a detective, we collect evidence… EXCEPT since we’re already invested in a particular outcome, we collect evidence selectively. And that’s where the mischief is.
We will find evidence that supports our preference and overlook the evidence that contradicts it. I hear this all the time in couples coaching. A spouse decides their mate is a no-good bum, and then (for years) collects evidence — usually true — to support this thesis. In so doing, all the evidence that their mate may NOT be a scoundrel fails to even register with them. He or she actually doesn’t see it!
Ever wondered how couples get all the way from the altar to divorce court??
So, Drewe, your practice of honestly examining the claims of the other side is a powerful contributor to keep you in a learning posture, growing through life.
Way to go!
Kirk