I can’t think before 9:00 in the morning. It doesn’t seem to matter what time I get up. Before 9:00, my brain runs about as quickly as a reptile in 30-degree weather. A teacher asks me to take notes on a 20-minute video, and I end up with three short sentences while other students have half a page. I’m not complaining; I think it’s kind of funny. (Also a great excuse not to try too hard first thing in the morning. I hate mornings.)
In the mornings? I write down in my notes the things other students, who are morning people, suggest. I respond to people’s questions, but don’t formulate many of my own. Because let’s be honest. Thinking is hard. Early in the morning (or for some of you, late at night), it’s easy to let other people do the thinking for us.
And that’s OK.
But what happens when we never pull our brain out of 30-degree reptile status? I think we all know the feeling of just accepting what the people around us say as truth, without giving it a whole lot of thought. We listen to music and don’t think about the words. We take what our friends say as absolute truth without questioning it. We read a Bible study book and assume it’s true because, honestly, it sounds pretty good.
And let’s be honest. Thinking is just hard. Other people go to school, other people learn about these things, other people have done my thinking for me. So why bother?
Today I was challenged to think. In chapel this morning, the speaker encouraged us to listen–really listen–to the lyrics of a song, and then respectfully, carefully, and biblically analyze it. Understand its worldview. Understand what themes it has that are correct…and which ones are wrong.
In other words, think. Think for yourself. Don’t just soak in the words, don’t just accept the messages the world is sending you.
Think about them.
Oddly, this is kind of a scary thing to suggest. The world around us says that they want us to think for ourselves. The truth is more like, “You can think for yourself, but only if your conclusions agree with mine.”
Why is this the case? Because thinking means asking questions. Asking questions means finding answers, maybe…maybe sometimes the wrong ones. Certainly different ones. Finding different answers means changing the way you live. Changing the way you live means going against the flow. Going against the flow means conflict. Conflict is uncomfortable.
It would be so much easier to just let other people do the thinking.
Thinking is hard.
Is it worth it? Should we take the time to think about the messages being sent to us? How far do we take this concept? Do we question everything, or only some things? What standards do we use to determine whether our new thoughts and conclusions are correct?
These are questions I find very, very difficult. Maybe you do too.
I am not going to give you an answer for those questions. I’m a college student. Currently, I have all questions, and very few answers.
Just….
Think about it.