The association that oversees development of networking systems met last week in Florida. Not the type of networking where people meet other people, although that is part of the reason I was there. This networking defines technology that allows many devices to connect to each other in an industrial setting.
An engineer from Procter & Gamble spoke at the conference in 2023. He explained how electricians and maintenance technicians install and troubleshoot the network in the company’s plants. “It’s too complex,” he proclaimed, “can’t you do something in your standards development to simplify things for us?”
A retired General Motors engineer spoke this year. He voiced a similar complaint that designing and implementing the network while keeping it secure from hackers was not specified and therefore left too much to chance. Once again, too much complexity.
Do you find the same thing when you read Bible study books or participate in a Bible study group and find that the discussion becomes far too complex?
There have been study groups where the leader suggested just blotting out some of the words to simplify things.
I suggest that you cannot do that.
Better is to say, “I don’t understand.”
A tip for reading Paul—return to the words of Jesus. I am always amazed at how he quotes Jesus writing before the Gospels were written. There is something behind the scenes that we just don’t know.
I many ways I am a “Red-Letter Christian.” (Some Bibles print Jesus’s words in red letters.) I believe that Jesus meant what he said. I believe that he expects us to do what he said we should do. Everything else is a footnote to:
You should love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself.
And who is your neighbor? Do what Jesus did for an example—pick someone from the most despised class of people that you know and show love to them.
If you find that complex, then we need to talk.
Gary Mintchell
Faith Venture 