I was taught that Curiosity was a bad thing and that I should never play with it.  The teaching was backed up by plenty of scripture, but I sure couldn’t find anything to support it now.

This morning the snow falling on the cliffs in the distance curiously looked like fog as I drank my coffee and watched through the window.  I had woken with the question, “Father, why did the Pharisees chose to be Pharisees”?

“Why were you”? He replied, and took me off guard for a moment, but He wasn’t wrong.

So I pondered my mind-set from back then and replied, “I was doing what I’d been taught would please You”.

He simply smiled with understanding.

Then as I gazed at the mesmerizing rhythm of the snow, He asked, “What do you see?”

“It looks like fog over the cliffs, but I can see the snowflakes falling on my deck and driveway”.  I answered.

“You would have to go to the cliffs to see the snowflakes there”. He stated.

Then I understood that sometimes being a Pharisee is simply a matter of distance.  As long as I sat in my chair, I might believe there was fog in the distance and that it was only snowing on my front step.  I might not guess the existence or the quality of the snowflakes there.

But I have changed personally through the years as I’ve investigated foggy things in the distance.  Sometimes I found that the fog wasn’t really fog at all.  Often it was a completely different thing than I’d suspected.   It took a bit of courage to go look, and other times it was simply curiosity that drove me to see.  Once or twice I battled panic or Fear of the unknown, but eventually curiosity won the fight.

“Is Curiosity a quality of the Spirit, Father”?

He didn’t answer.

Hmm.  His silence usually means I’m asking the wrong question. Then it occurred to me that I should check a Thesaurus to better pinpoint the meaning of the word, and I can tell you that was an eye-opener.

First on the list of antonyms (meaning the opposite) was the word “Indifference” and first on the list of synonyms (meaning the same thing) was the word “wonder.”  Instantly I felt Father grinning with his head tilted sideways as though He was saying a bit ironically, “So, what do you think?”

I chuckled a moment because of course Father is full of wonder and indifference couldn’t possibly exist in His character.  Therefore it was obvious that Curiosity is a good characteristic and Father is full of it.  🙂

I’m smiling now as I thank Him for my Curiosity, and whatever courage I’ve had to pursue looking into the fog, in spite of past teaching.  Curiosity took me from being a Pharisee to being a … seeker into foggy things.  So I’m probably going to continue being Curious and I’m going to continue getting out of my chair to go check out the fog in the distance.

And I’ll keep sharing those adventures with you.  🙂

 

“Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back”  ~  childhood rhyme of unknown origin.