When I think back to my university days a few key lessons
jump out at me. One of those lessons was
that we need to be very deliberate in our understanding and judgments because
there's often information out there that we don't know. I think I learned very well not to ever
assume when I was in university when doing research and drawing conclusions.
Very quickly I learned that if I didn't site my sources when making statements
of fact I was quickly questioned and my writing lost its credibility. When that
happened, I was just a lowly student with an idea that didn't necessarily stack
up against all of the ideas that my professors had catalogued over the years. I needed to make a conscious effort to find
the proof for the idea I was arguing.
A second key lesson that I learned was that no matter
what your position is on a particular idea or issue, there's always going to be
someone with an education and a research grant who will substantiate your ideas
- and especially more so now that we live in this intensely digitalization
world. So I learned to constantly
question not just whether I was arguing well but was I arguing truth: "What
is the root of this truth, this idea that I am espousing? Where does my reasoning find a firm
foundation?"
Both of these ideas, of substantiating my claims and
using right reasoning, are ones that Charlotte Mason addressed directly nearly
100 years ago and I really appreciate her words when she speaks about the way
of the will and the way of reason.
She says,
“There are two
guides to moral and intellectual self-management to offer to children, which we
may call 'the way of the will' and 'the way of the reason.'
The way of the
will: Children should be taught, (a) to distinguish between 'I want' and 'I
will.' (b) That the way to will effectively is to turn our thoughts from that
which we desire but do not will. (c) That the best way to turn our thoughts is
to think of or do some quite different thing, entertaining or interesting. (d)
That after a little rest in this way, the will returns to its work with new
vigour….
The way of
reason: We teach children, too, not to 'lean (too confidently) to their own
understanding'; because the function of reason is to give logical demonstration
(a) of mathematical truth, (b) of an initial idea, accepted by the will. In the
former case, reason is, practically, an infallible guide, but in the latter, it
is not always a safe one; for, whether that idea be right or wrong, reason will
confirm it by irrefragable proofs.
In other words while me must constantly exert an effort
to do and think rightly, we must also recognize that our ability to reason is
limited by our own understanding and so we can, of our own volition, defend and
convince ourselves of ideas that are logically flawed.
So, there is a need, both intellectually and spiritually,
to find a firm foundation. I love it
that she turns us back to our Creator for this reasoning: Proverbs 3:5,6 says “Trust
in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all
your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (NIV84).
The way to guard against leaning to confidently on our
own understanding: trust in the LORD with all our hearts!
As I stumble through this life, there are many times when
I will question the ideas that are presented to me and even worse, there will
be many times that I embrace, without even realizing it, ideas that are flawed. My best defense will always be to look to God
for truth and knowledge on this crazy journey.
All the rest will fall into line.
Wishing you a peaceful day as you lean on the author of
truth.
Blessings, Friends!
Cori
