Answering the Why Questions
Did you ever engage someone in a conversation, or listen to a lengthy discourse while wondering if they were providing answers to questions you weren't asking? Discovering the answers to life's questions is a challenge that engages us all. Solomon wrote in the Old Testament: "I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 1:12-13). In the book The Big Moo, one contributor writes:
Most bureaucracies don't want the whys working their way up the chain. Most bureaucracies encourage people in the field to be the first and only line of defense. "That's our policy." "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do about that." "Insurance regulations, sir." The goal is to get the customer (questioner) to go away. To go away. They want you to go away. Does that make any sense at all? The single most efficient (and inexpensive) technique for improving your operations is answering the "why" questions! You should embrace these people, not send them away. "You know, sir, I have no idea why you have to do that. But I can tell you that I'll find out before the end of the day."
If you've ever been around children, you know that the most concise, succinct, to-the-point answer you provide them will always be followed by "why." It's like Solomon's discovery, he who described himself as one who had, "grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before" (Ecclesiastes 1:16). Behind every answer lies another question. In this issue of Holiness Today our intent is not to answer questions no one is asking. Our interest is in raising questions you may not have considered. Socrates is reported to have said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." While this pithy, popular saying does not exhaust the significance of life, it is worth noting. Raising questions may sometimes appear as "madness and folly" (Ecclesiastes 1:17). Famed astronomer and philosopher Carl Sagan offered:
As long as there have been humans we have searched for our place in the cosmos. Where are we? Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe. We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and by the depth of our answers.
Admittedly, Sagan's view of "home" is a bit jaundiced. Even though as Christians, we know who we are, we know where we are, and we don't think of our planet as a "humdrum star lost in a galaxy" somewhere, we do occasionally have questions. Maybe sometimes, we should have questions, but we mask them with big smiles while uncertainty gnaws away at our faith. Well, let the questions roll. Let's open the box and probe the questions which for so many no answer as of yet has been received. Solomon said, "So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me" (Ecclesiastes 2:17). Nevertheless, even the ancient teacher reached a conclusion. May the questions raised here encourage you and send you joyfully toward the fulfillment of "fearing God and keeping His commandments."
David J. Felter, editor in chief Holiness Today
Holiness Today, May/June 2007
Please note: This article was originally published in 2007. All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at that time but may have since changed.
