Thinking Out Loud

Thinking Out Loud

Baboons don’t think. They may have excellent instincts, but they don’t reason. It is one of the ways that humans are different. I should say, it is one of the ways that humans should be different.

Not all humans think. Many of our responses are more reactions than they are reasoned responses, almost more like a reflex. I have noticed some other instances when I’m pretty sure people are not thinking. One is rehearsing. When a person recites for me what they heard on the news show last night, they are not thinking. They are reporting. Now reporters can think, but many reporters just say what they have heard

Also, if you tell me the same story over and over, I don’t think you are thinking. It’s the first thing that comes to mind, and you are telling a story that pretty much bypasses the thought process.

But how is it that we think? Some people are gifted, having developed the interiority of their minds so that they can build a thought structure that continues to get developed over time. Most of us are not like that. We’ve got to write things down. We are helped by talking to others about it. We need to think out loud.

Also, thinking takes time. We need to turn things over in our minds, and consider other facets of a truth or theory to see if it really works out. Taking time to think is something that our culture does rather miserably because we tend to be in such a hurry.

The other question that I would mention is this: about what should we think? And the answer it limitless. We live in a world that begs to be examined, to be thought about. What makes a person righteous and what makes a person wicked is worth thinking about. The role of the sovereign and infinite God over against the roles of temporary, finite humans is worth thinking about (and, we tend to overestimate ourselves, and underestimate God, both damaging errors). And we should think out loud about these things. Find people with whom you can actually talk something serious.

I would hope that churches are places where this can happen. Hopefully, the person up front isn’t just reading what he got off the internet or now, ChatGPT. Hopefully the people will engage with one another over more issues than health and politics (though I admit that health and politics are worth thinking about - but there’s got to be more than that). Let’s use the minds that God gave us for their intended use.

If you only think about the weather, you’re probably not really thinking. If you only think about money, maybe you are just counting and measuring. If you bypass the wonders of the world and the deep things of God, then it seems to me, you are living more like a baboon.