Do you really want to know the answer?

 

Have you realized that there are a number of reasons for a person to ask someone a question? The reasons for the question can be more complicated than the question itself. Sometimes you can easily discern the reason behind a question. Other times the reasons can be harder to detect.

One reason people ask questions is because they are looking for a certain answer. This is what lawyers often do. They ask a question trying to get you to a specific answer. In fact, lawyers often say, “Don’t ask the question if you don’t know the answer.” See, they aren’t asking a question because they don’t know. They are asking a question because they do know, but want to draw a specific answer out of you. And for a lawyer it’s dangerous to start down a line of questioning without knowing what the witness is going to say. They might get more than they bargained for. For a lawyer, a question with an indefinite answer is like allowing yourself to stand in front of a blind-folded magician while he gets to throw knives at you. Hopefully they miss.

Sometimes a question is rhetorical. Like when something happens to someone that isn’t a very common occurrence. A person might say, “How often does that happen?” They aren’t expecting an answer. It’s just a statement, in a sense, of the rarity of the occurrence. In fact, if you were to give them an answer they might think something is wrong with you. A person would have to take an extremely literal interpretation of things and not understand any nuance in order to actually give an answer.

Sometimes people are asking a question just to get you to think. These can sometimes be the best questions, because the question will get you to think in ways you haven’t before. And often these questions can help us to come to some of the most enlightening conclusions. These kinds of questions can actually be the most helpful. It not only forces you to examine some, maybe, falsely held notions, but also guides you to the right conclusions.

Sometimes people ask questions as just a way of mocking you. Like someone asking, “Hey, did they use a weed whacker to cut your hair?” That’s less of an honest question and more of a statement about the quality of your haircut. Based on that question, it must not be too good. Of course, these questions aren’t helpful. Usually they just illustrate people’s cruelty.

Finally, sometimes people ask a question because they genuinely want to know the answer. These are the most up-front and honest questions. Kind of like a child when they ask questions. They ask questions about everything because they just have a desire to know. These are some of the most helpful, because once you know the answer you can actually do something with that new information. So, the question we need to ask ourselves is, “Do we really want to know the answer?”

 

…Let’s go deeper

Many questions are asked in life. The main question, though, is, “What kind of questions are we asking?” What do we want to know, and why? Not only that, but what kind of questions are being asked of us?
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AV Matthew 21:25-26: “The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.” Jesus asked a question here of the Chief priests. These were the supposed enlightened ones, the erudite religious leaders of Israel. Jesus asked them a question he knew they couldn’t answer. What’s interesting is that their non-answer was actually an answer in itself. They answered by saying they couldn’t tell. That, in itself, illustrated they didn’t know everything. They were humbled and brought face-to-face with a truth by a simple question.

AV John 18:38: “Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault [at all].” Pilate asks, “What is truth?” In verses prior Jesus had just explained to Pilate that He had come to bear witness unto the truth, and that those who hear is voice are of the truth. I believe Pilate’s question here was a rhetorical one. He wasn’t really wanting to know the answer. His question about truth was actually a statement about him thinking truth was an unknowable quantity. I believe, especially in his day and age, that he had heard so many people’s versions of the truth that he questioned whether there was a truth. Much like today, in fact. I think a lot of people today end up asking this question, “What is truth?” They’ve heard so many versions of it that they don’t even want to know the answer anymore.

Most natural treatments have been around for centuries and have proven to be effective in many viagra overnight delivery cases are: 1. With the traffic within the street, it’d be cheap tadalafil no prescription terribly onerous for you to be within the school on time. Healthy digestion actually https://unica-web.com/films_for_the_unica_2005_competition.pdf viagra österreich depends upon alkalinity of these solutions. Easier and fast-acting, proven pleasure. discount viagra canada AV Luke 22:64: “And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?” These were the men that took Jesus before He was crucified on the Cross. These are the questions of a mocker. They don’t really want to know the answers. They didn’t want to know the answer about who Jesus is. So, the question, itself, is fruitless for them. In order to come to the truth, the questions have to come from an honest heart.

AV John 3:3-4: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” I believe Nicodemus was asking an honest question here, much like a child asking a simple question. He truly wanted to know. Of course, he didn’t understand Jesus was talking about a spiritual rebirth. I believe that his question was the question of a true seeker. It was an honest question from an honest heart.

AV Matthew 16:15: “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?” Jesus asked this question of the disciples. Peter answers correctly and says, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus asks the same question of each of us today. Who do we say that He is? This is the ultimate question. This is the question that determines my relationship with Him. Is He just a great man who lived in ages past? Is He just a prophet? Is He just a great teacher? Or, is He the Christ, the Son of the living God, my Lord and my Savior?

AV Matthew 21:25-26: “The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.”

AV John 18:38: “Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault [at all].”

AV Luke 22:64: “And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?”

AV John 3:3-4: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?”

AV Matthew 16:15: “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?”

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