November 27, 2009
Open-Minded
I just watched a TV program on cats where the expert discussed different breeds and their characteristics. I found it interesting that when you bring a kitten into your home there is only a short time where they are open-minded. It’s during this window of opportunity that they are moldable and they should be introduced to children, dogs, etc. I see some similarity between kittens and children. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 19:14 ESV) I know it’s not impossible for an adult or a mature cat to be open-minded…but they are rare creatures.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Gail;
-----Open-mindedness is a mental condition that comes with the same benefits and perils of all other mental conditions. Laughter and joy are good as well, but we are all careful not to laugh with the perverse, or to be joyful over our neighbor’s calamity. We also lament our failures and complain about society’s cultural decline, but we must not lament or complain about the difficulties of our tasks. Every mental condition has its place and time.
-----So Proverbs warns against open-mindedness, “The simple believes everything, but the prudent looks where he is going. A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool throws off restraint and is careless.” (Prov 14:15-16) Yet it also calls forth the open mind, “An intelligent mind acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge,” (18:15) and “Plans are established by counsel,” (20:18). Like a car can be used to get the groceries or to flee with the loot from a bank robbery, and yet be just a car in either case, so also open mindedness can make us knowledgeable and understanding, or puffed up and foolish, and be just a mental condition in either case. The application of it is the key to its benefit or detriment, as Proverbs further counsels, “...direct your mind in the way.” (23:19)
-----Yet many churches have succumbed to the alluring challenges of the humanist Sirens to be open minded and have accepted the evil desires of man’s ways, while many other churches have closed mindedly rejected the benign pleasures and comforts of human life. Those that have opened their minds to the imprudence of the wicked have closed them to the cautions of wisdom, and those that have closed their minds to the simple comforts and pleasures of the human condition have opened them to judgmental imprudence. Both have done much damage to the Lord’s body. But only by wisely seeking the counsel of the Word can one know when to open the mind and when to close it, when to use either to get the groceries rather than to rob the bank.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
Post a Comment