Faith Venture

Sherlock Holmes, “The temptation to form premature theories upon insufficient data is the bane of our profession.”

We call it “jumping to conclusions.”

My mind forms a picture of a kid jumping over a water puddle following a rain. The jump is short landing the poor child in the deepest part of the puddle splashing water, becoming wet all over much to the parent’s chagrin.

I hired a young man newly graduated with a B.A. from a leading state school in Ohio for an entry level position. Something came up in conversation. He replied, “I took a course in that at university. I’m an expert.”

We read one part of a sentence from Scripture. We conclude we know everything about that idea. We read it in English. It was written in Greek.

We look at someone newly arrived. We note their clothes, height, weight, hair. We assume we know all about that person.

We know nothing.

We jumped into the middle of the puddle splashing bad thoughts all around. 

We didn’t clear the puddle, that is gather sufficient data, in order to form a more accurate conclusion. Realizing that when more data arrives we may need to revise that conclusion.

Life is all about “I don’t know” and “I wonder about that”.

…is to leave the world a better place than you found it.

Do not fall into striving for social media success.

Do not measure success by the size of the house or the price of the car in the garage.

What do those matter?

Leaving a wake behind the boat of your life’s journey of peace, joy, calm, service.

That is success.

An exchange from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien on moving forward despite the difficulties we face:

Frodo: “I wish none of this had happened.”

Gandalf: “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

People around the world recently survived democratic elections. The losers face worries about the future. The winners reside in hope that what they voted for actually works. Since politicians (as well as church leaders) promise much only to discover how hard change is, most will be disappointed.

What we as individual people can do is to take Gandalf’s advice, decide what to do with the time that is given us.

We can choose to follow Jesus’s examples and teachings, or we can live in an uncertain future in our minds.

Character more than talent determines success in life. Not necessarily more money, power, or prestige. But as someone of whom people touched by them remember kindly.

Who you are shouts louder than what you do.

Put Away Evil Speaking–John Wesley.

O that all you who bear the reproach of Christ, who are in derision called Methodists, would set an example to the Christian world, so called, at least in this one instance! Put ye away evil-speaking, talebearing, whispering: Let none of them proceed out of your mouth! See that you “speak evil of no man;” of the absent, nothing but good. If ye must be distinguished, whether ye will or no, let this be the distinguishing mark of a Methodist: “He censures no man behind his back: By this fruit ye may know him.” What a blessed effect of this self-denial should we quickly feel in our hearts! How would our “peace flow as a river,” when we thus “followed peace with all men!”

I was brought up in the Methodist Church and have spent most of my adult life as a member. I don’t remember any specific instruction on Wesleyan thought. Some recent reading suggested several books to read next, so I picked up Wesley’s Collected Sermons. 141 of them. When the book opened in Kindle, the note told me 24 hours remaining of reading time. I’m now half through. I stand amazed at how much my thought came from John Wesley.

The quote from John Wesley should be “inscribed on the heart” of all who call themselves Methodist of whatever flavor. Furthermore, the thought is good for all who claim to follow Jesus. Even further, it wouldn’t hurt every person regardless of religion or politics or whatever to follow this advice.