Are You Open Minded?

Open mindedness

This is a good thing…….isn’t it?

The current term for open mindedness……..is tolerance. Tolerance is putting open mindedness into practice. And it turns out, that in practice, open mindedness and tolerance are almost synonymous.

We want to be open minded…….people tell us that we need to be open minded…….but why?

So…..today’s question……is open mindedness good or bad?

I propose that open mindedness/tolerance is nether good nor bad. As with many other things…….it depends.

It depends on whether the idea that you are considering……is true or not.

It depends on whether the act that you are tolerating is good or evil.

And that is where we get into trouble.

Our current society does not seems to value truth very much. And that becomes a problem for open mindedness. Without truth, open mindedness and its cousin, tolerance, become logically untethered.

Mitigating climate change is an idea that may save the planet. It can also be a fools errand. It all depends on whether the greenhouse gas theory is true.

Abortion is either a tool for self determination among women……or murder. It all depends on whether the humanity…….the soul……..of the child is true.

God…..the trinity…….is either the creator and head of the universe…..or a giant hoax. It all depends on whether the Bible is true.

And this is where our culture gets into trouble.

The trouble is that our modern culture has largely replaced the truth…….with our appetites. We tend to believe things that allow us to pursue our appetites……our desires. Whether they are true or not is secondary…….if we ever consider the truth at all.

So…..in the absence of truth………how do we sort these things out?

We support/opppse abortion because we want sexual freedom/want to save children.

We support/oppose the green new deal because it will save the planet/wreck our economy.

We accept/reject God because we want paradise/we want to be in charge.

The simple answer is that…..without truth…..we cannot navigate this morass.

The only way out of this logical thicket is the truth.

The answer is to stop pursuing our appetites and to search out the truth. The answer is to subordinate our appetites to the truth.

Here are some guidelines.

If your plan for living consistently steers you toward satisfying your appetites……..you are probably kidding yourself.

Listen to your heart………you may have beaten it down over the years…….but the truth is still in there.

Be skeptical when you pursue something because you really want it. The truth is often that tiny voice that says “don’t”.

Love and relationship are true. If your appetites damage love or a relationship……stop.

Finally, ask your heart………is 70 years of life…..preceeded and followed by a black void…..all that there is…….or is there something more…….is there a part of you that lives on after your death.

The solution to the open mindedness/tolerance conundrum is this:

Ignore your appetites and search dispassionately for truth. Be prepared to listen to the little voice that says “no”.

The Bible is the most widely accepted moral code on the planet………it is a good place to start………far better than your appetites. And God will toss paradise in……..as a bonus.

I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
“But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.

God, ESV

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

Paul, ESV