Some things we learn under pressure.
When I first started using a computer, I was under pressure to learn how to use
it. Previous to the purchase I had no training. I just had to put in the time to
learn how to use it. Mostly through trial and error I submitting myself to a
crash course in how to use the computer (and I'm still learning). That's
learning under pressure.
Involved in gospel preaching for about 37 years, on many occasions I've been
asked a question about the Bible for which I had no answer. Sometimes in Bible
classes or home studies, questions come up and I am compelled to say, "I don't
know." Or, as a preacher I may be challenged by someone regarding what I believe
and teach; that challenge may send me into hours of study and research. I am
learning under pressure.
I must admit, I've learned many things under pressure. Things I needed to know.
Yet I'm not convinced this is the best learning circumstance. First, when you
are under the pressure of the moment, you may be in a hurry to find an answer.
You may be tempted to not take the time that good study requires. Crucial
mistakes can be made in hasty study. Second, especially when you are directly
challenged, you assume a defensive mode and may be more concerned about
defending yourself (or group) that discovering the truth. Of course, there will
always be occasions of pressure when we must study our way through to respond or
answer. We cannot somehow do away with learning under pressure.
What is better is, to be so involved in increasing your Bible knowledge (on an
ongoing basis), you will have answers well in mind before the questions arise.
There isn't, let us grant, some course of Bible reading and study that will
perfectly quip us to perfectly respond to all questions in the future. From the
time of our baptism until our death, we will be learning.
If our knowledge is acquired mostly through the challenges and pressures which
are unanticipated, our knowledge will probably suffer from an absence of
balance; a dangerous limitation. The ideal I want to recommend is, to read and
study the Bible daily, to gradually acquire a well-rounded knowledge of
Scripture. The better our devotion to this ideal, the better prepared we will be
for life and the challenges and questions people may submit to us. Learning
under pressure should be secondary to our ongoing, personal involvement in
learning the truth of God's Word. I need to learn to yield to the Lord, resist
the devil and respect the truth before the temptations and questions arrive in
my life.
"For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for
you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all
wisdom and spiritual understanding," (Col. 1:9).
By Warren E. Berkley
The Front Page
From Expository Files 13.9; September 2006
