“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16
Dorothy found herself in a strange world, hailed by the munchkins as a hero for doing away with the wicked witch of the East only to be targeted by the wicked witch of the West. Glinda the good witch tells Dorothy she must seek assistance from the Wizard of Oz in the great Emerald City and so Dorothy sets off following the now infamous yellow brick road, at a crossroad she meets the Scarecrow. The Scarecrow dreams of having a brain and Dorothy invites him along on the journey. I always wondered how it was that the Scarecrow could talk, let alone sing and dance without a brain… but perhaps that is a topic for a different kind of discussion.
Brains are indeed important. The human brain is a technological wonder, it controls all of the systems of our bodies, and according to medical science it is what determines whether we are alive or not. Have you ever heard a doctor say the person is heart dead or lung dead or liver dead? When we hear the words “brain dead”, we know what they mean. The human brain stores massive amounts of information most of which we can access with ease. It is this insane amount of information that we must learn to put into action. At the end of the movie the wizard hints that it is the ability to use knowledge that is important as he hands Scarecrow his diploma. This week’s passage makes it clear, in my opinion that we are to use the Word of God to do good in this world.
If we held every word of Scripture in the supercomputer that is the human brain but never use it, never apply that knowledge to our lives and the lives of those around us what good is it? I have known smart people, people with PhD following their names who did not have enough sense to turn a door knob in order to open a door - if we cannot put the knowledge we hold to practical use what do we have it for?
Scripture tells us we are to forgive as we have been forgiven, that we should love as we have been loved, that we should not judge or we will be judged. We are told that true friends willingly lay down their lives for one another, we are told to love mercy and act justly. God commands that we care for the oppressed, the widow and the orphan. If we hold all of this information in our brains and never make practical use of it what good is it?
There are some in this world who think that followers of Christ are ignorant fools who cannot think for themselves. I think it is clear that as followers of Christ we must put the knowledge we have to practical and compassionate use.
We gotta use our brains to make this world a better place.
A Prayer
Father, the human mind is an amazing example of your handiwork. It is capable of so much and yet sometimes we are so caught up in filling it with information that we forget sometimes that we need to use that information to do your will. Help us find ways to apply all that your Word teaches us to help those around us. Help us to forgive when we need to forgive, to act with compassion and to love the way your Son loved us. Help us to use our brains for your kingdom. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
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