While flying from Belfast to London last week, I did something that I usually never do. I paid attention to the airline safety instructions. I have been on so many domestic flights that I don't really ever give the safety briefings a second thought. I know what they are giong to say before they say it.
But this time, something was different. The audio on the safety video said, "Please pay attention because the safety features and policies on this aircraft may be different than from those on any other plane that you have flown on before." This automatically triggered the curiousity part of my brain. I wondered if the video was just saying such a thing to get my attention. Curiostiy led me to listen. And sure enough, there were some mild differences in polices and safety features. I found these interesting. But I still would have had enough knowledge to react appropiately had there been an accident.
It is human nature to ignore the predictable. When we think we know what is coming, we aren't going to listen to what people are saying or doing. We're too busy with other things to stop and listen. We can increase our ability to multi-task by eliminating something that we already can predict with a high degree of accuracy.
I think that man's familiarty prejudice explains why many people tune out Christian messages presented by predictable preachers. This is especially true for people who have sat in pews Sunday after Sunday. They already know the story. They are looking for the details that present a different way to look at the same ole thing. If we are really honest, God is not predictable. He is complex, constantly creating new things and calling us to find Him in the middle of the paradox. This leads me to believe we as Christians are showing the world a very limited, one slice view of Christianity. There are so many more angles and pieces of the pie to be enjoyed and understood. If we only use a small percentage of our brains as humans, I wonder what percentage of our spirit is at work most of the time? How much of God and His truth do we really interact with on a daily basis? How much could we take before we would reach stimulus overload?
I don't want to be a boring Christian. I want to live each day as an opportunity to dig deeper and learn something new of who God is and be transformed in the process. I want my life to be a mystery that sparks interest and excitement in others. Are you curious? Good - that's where you will discover what you really want and need to know.
