Contrarians. Who needs them? After all, they’re usually a disagreeable sort. The rest of us are just out here living our lives when we happen upon one.
They get all up in our business with their thinking and their justified applications based on those thoughts. They think they’re better than the rest of us. Or, at least, that’s how it feels.
Case in point. Imagine a group of people having a conversation, when two of them say the same thing, almost simultaneously. You already know what he of them is going to say, don’t you?
Then some tool comes along and says something like, ‘No, great minds think for themselves!’ Now, are they being contrarian? Yes. But are they necessarily being obnoxious? No.
I say this for a couple of reasons. First, I am the aforementioned tool who says great minds think for themselves. I’m not trying to be contrary. But I think it’s good to give people another perspective.
And that is exactly what I’m getting from Larry Osborne’s book, A Contrarian’s Guide to KNowing God. Full disclosure, I’m only halfway through it. The subtitle is Spriituality For the Rest Of Us.
The premise is simple. There is usually a majority-rules, age-old, acceptable way of doing Christianity. Except that most of us struggle to agree with which bumper sticker theology we should live by. And chances are, the stuff we do agree on, should be more thought out.
One example of Larry’s is the idea that Christianity is not a religion. It’s a relationship. It’s said all over the place. I know I’ve said it for years. But as Larry points out, the mantra of relationships does not keep us from trying to quantify everything we do.
“Almost all of our books, seminars, workshops, and programs are heavily weighted toward religious practice and self-discipline.”
So I’m not encouraging being contrary just for the sake of being contrary. But perhaps we should accept a few mor eopinions being injected into our day. Just maybe we should feel free to share what we do differently than those we share a pew with. And we should definitely do it all while understanding that it’s ok to be different.
I’d recommend picking up a copy of this book. It will give you some worthwhile things to consider. And it just may free you up from some burdens that have been weighing you down. I received this book from my good friends at Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing. They give me books and ask that I say something about them. And now I have.
They get all up in our business with their thinking and their justified applications based on those thoughts. They think they’re better than the rest of us. Or, at least, that’s how it feels.
Case in point. Imagine a group of people having a conversation, when two of them say the same thing, almost simultaneously. You already know what he of them is going to say, don’t you?
Great minds think alike!
Then some tool comes along and says something like, ‘No, great minds think for themselves!’ Now, are they being contrarian? Yes. But are they necessarily being obnoxious? No.
I say this for a couple of reasons. First, I am the aforementioned tool who says great minds think for themselves. I’m not trying to be contrary. But I think it’s good to give people another perspective.
And that is exactly what I’m getting from Larry Osborne’s book, A Contrarian’s Guide to KNowing God. Full disclosure, I’m only halfway through it. The subtitle is Spriituality For the Rest Of Us.
The premise is simple. There is usually a majority-rules, age-old, acceptable way of doing Christianity. Except that most of us struggle to agree with which bumper sticker theology we should live by. And chances are, the stuff we do agree on, should be more thought out.
One example of Larry’s is the idea that Christianity is not a religion. It’s a relationship. It’s said all over the place. I know I’ve said it for years. But as Larry points out, the mantra of relationships does not keep us from trying to quantify everything we do.
“Almost all of our books, seminars, workshops, and programs are heavily weighted toward religious practice and self-discipline.”
So I’m not encouraging being contrary just for the sake of being contrary. But perhaps we should accept a few mor eopinions being injected into our day. Just maybe we should feel free to share what we do differently than those we share a pew with. And we should definitely do it all while understanding that it’s ok to be different.
In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.
I’d recommend picking up a copy of this book. It will give you some worthwhile things to consider. And it just may free you up from some burdens that have been weighing you down. I received this book from my good friends at Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing. They give me books and ask that I say something about them. And now I have.
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