Skip to content ↓

Our Own Perversity

Here is a great little quote from James Spiegel and his book Gum, Geckos and God. In this part of the book he is discussing the correlation between knowledge and trust–we trust those who have knowledge. Read what he says about this…

The other day I was sitting in a faculty meeting, trying not to doze off during some committee reports. As I looked around, I mused over how much each of my colleagues understands about his or her discipline. It occurred to me that if there was a single mind that possessed all of the knowledge in that room, its intelligence would be surpassed in human history. I also considered how easy it would be to trust such a person if he or she were to counsel me on some matter. From there I extrapolated: What if that person had all of the combined knowledge of everyone in Indiana? In the United States? Of the entire world population? Even if God had merely the sum of all human understanding, he should be easy to trust. Yet his wisdom and knowledge infinitely exceed the best human comprehension. Still we struggle to trust him. How twisted is that?

Faith is essentially the practice of trust. And our routine failure to properly trust an infinitely wise God reveals something of our own perversity. We all desire to control our circumstances, and faith is a surrendering of that control. So we naturally tend to rebel against faith. But God graciously counteracts this tendency by nurturing us. Like a good parent, he consistently demonstrates his love. And we, like kids, must trust him on this basis.


  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (February 18)

    A La Carte: Very cool birds / The way to combat anxiety / Do not hinder yourself / The sacred mundane / Thriving in women’s ministry leadership / Kindle deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (February 17)

    A La Carte: Wisdom for online dating / Anything can be an idol / The great danger / Unconfessed sin / Sins we love to ignore / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Quality Time

    Quality Time

    People of all faiths pray. Some pray to gods, some to ancestors, some to nature, and some to the universe, but all speak out words, all utter desires, all hope to be heard. But Christians pray differently and Christians pray confidently, for we pray to a Father. We alone “have received the Spirit of adoption…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (February 15)

    A La Carte: Resisting temptation / Strange familiarity / The reluctant polemicist / A new Getty hymn / The power of one bitter thought / Better than a holy year / and more.

  • The Art of Disagreeing

    Keep Calm and Stay Friends

    It is hard to disagree with someone you love. It is harder still to disagree well—to retain genuine respect and true friendship despite differing opinions or convictions. And, as we all know by experience, there is just so much to disagree about.