The Problem with Problems

Lindy stood at the blackboard and began the math exercise.  She didn't get too far when the fractions started fracturing her brain.  The snickers from the rest of the class only made it worse.  Finally, Mrs. Winters, their math teacher, explained where she had gone wrong. Everyone repeated the task, following the instructions and they all finally got to the destination -- the right answer.

Was Mrs. Winters right?  Of course!  No one doubted she knew the answer and could show the class how to solve the task.

Do we have the same trust in our authorities? Perhaps not!  No one believes the math teacher anymore!

The media has sown a loss of trust across the board.  Politicians have done the same, perhaps even more, but that surprises no one.

  But it is worse.  Faith in the value and constitution of the family, social norms when in public, the type of education youngsters should receive, which foods are good for us, and which medicines and treatments are worthy of our trust are now on the 'debatable' list. A growing distrust of the authorities in these fields creeps ever higher. Then the next 'authority' tells us just the opposite and how the previous 'specialists' had it all wrong.  And on and on it goes. I won't even start on what politicians are doing to us...

All of these ongoing arguments fill our internet feeds at every turn. The problem is not in the problem itself.  It is in the authority.

We have come to believe that our time-tested authorities across many realms of thought are in error at the least, or even out to get us.  This has created an undercurrent of paranoia that is hard to deny.  Any meeting of family and friends ends up quarreling not just about politics, but about the 'latest' social media gossip that has edged into news and our list of 'reliable sources.' There is truly only one to trust, and HE has revealed Himself in God's word:

• Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5,6 

That verse says it all!  God knows what we are like indeed!  Quarreling over words...

Would little Lindy argue with her Math teacher?  She wouldn't.  If only we could be as wise and seek to learn and not trust in ourselves, and quarrel over our agenda, fracturing all that we hold dear, and not live by what, by WHO matters most!

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