Thought of the Day 12.04.08

Imagine that you are enrolled in a class in which you expect to do quite well, but on the first test you score 5 out of 100. Shocked, you apply yourself even more diligently, but on the second test you score only a 3. Nevertheless, you go back to work, cramming and redoubling your efforts, but you score only 1 point on your third exam.

Flustered and baffled, you finally go to the teacher for some help. He asks if you understand why your answers were wrong, and you say, “Yes, I always see the mistake after you grade it, but I seem unable to get the right answers beforehand. Can you please help me?” He looks at you patiently and shares one little insight that suddenly makes everything in the class make sense.

On the next test, you score a 98, but then you realize something. Everyone else in the class is still scoring in the single digits. Here’s the question: Would you share his insight with everyone else as freely as he shared it with you, and would you give him the credit for your success?
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5 comments:

Elizabeth said...

I'm missing something here, because I really don't get it.

December 7, 2008 at 1:06 PM
Prophet said...

I'm fuzzy too. What does the test represent?

December 8, 2008 at 10:31 PM
Andrew Tallman said...

Alright, apparently I made this one too cryptic. I'm very sorry about that.

The main idea is to get us thinking about just how much of what we really need has been given to us by God rather than earned by our own effort, which then will translate into how generous we are in giving the same gift to others.

The test is (loosely) our ability to please God. The secret is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The teacher is the Father (or Christ, I dislike too much specificity in metaphors).

And the part I didn't have space to include is that if you find yourself not really motivated to share the secret which the teacher gave you, it's possibly because you don't really have it and aren't actually scoring those 98s you think you are. But to imagine someone receiving the true Gospel and then holding onto it for any reason after having been gifted such a blessing is as incomprehensible as the student refusing to share the secret with the class.

Again, I apologize for not laying out the strokes clearly enough for several of you to see what picture is being painted. If I ever fail this way again, please don't hesitate to ask for clarification again. =)

December 9, 2008 at 12:30 PM
Elizabeth said...

Much better.

I think that the fact that you even go to the teacher for help, shows that you are on the right path, even if you don't fully understand the secret which the teacher reveals to you.

Which makes me wonder, would the better understanding of the secret be evidenced by sharing the secret, or encouraging your classmates to ask the teacher themselves?

December 9, 2008 at 1:38 PM
Andrew Tallman said...

Yes. That was exactly the point I was driving at in the thought. Keeping the goodies without sharing them with everyone is evidence of some grave defect in the process.

Perhaps the last line could read, "and would you send them to him to learn from the Master themselves," or something.

December 9, 2008 at 1:48 PM

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