It’s often said that “curiosity killed the cat,” but without a healthy curiosity, we stop growing as people.
Some of my favorite books from childhood were “Curious George” adventures. This series of children’s books was about a monkey who belonged to “the man in the yellow hat.” George couldn’t help but wander away to explore and discover all sorts of wonderful things. At times his inquisitive nature would land our monkey friend in a precarious position, but the man in the yellow hat generally showed up just at the right time to keep George safe.
Like George, from an early age I valued asking questions and living in a curious way. My favorite books helped me understand more about how things were made: everything from castles to ships to cars or even my toys.
I was fascinated by the beauty and intricacy I saw in nature. I used my magnifying glass to study the iridescent colors of butterfly wings, and collected rocks of all kinds. I loved dinosaurs, and stories about what Jesus did.
Does God Encourage Us to Be Curious?
What if I told you that God dreamed up the idea of curiosity and He actually encourages us to grow in it?
Proverbs 25:2 (NIV) says,
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
Here’s how Eugene Peterson paraphrases that verse in “the Message”
Proverbs 25:2 (The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language)
God delights in concealing things; scientists delight in discovering things.
Now, I’m not a scientist, but I find great delight in discovering things!
If you want to grow in wisdom, I think you need to stay curious and ask a lot of questions.
King Solomon wrote Proverbs 4:5a,7 (NIV) which says,
5 Get wisdom, get understanding; …
7 Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
Jesus commands us to go seeking… (I think of Jesus as a sponsor of great questions.)
Matthew 7:7–8 (NIV)
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
When we discover something, a powerful dynamic of learning happens in our hearts. Being curious helps us live "life to the fullest" in 5 ways:
Curiosity Fuels Discovery.
Curiosity precedes and fuels discovery and learning. It means that our minds are active. Making an effort to discover new things maintains a lifelong learning posture.
“A growing number of researchers believe that curiosity and knowledge-building grow together – the more we know, the more we want to know.” (Brené Brown, Dare to Lead)
Abraham Lincoln wrote,
“I don’t think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.”
Curiosity About Creation Leads to Worship.
When we encounter God’s beauty, power and creativity in nature, our curiosity leads us down a path of worship. It leads us to being in a posture of being in awe and worshiping God for His creative genius. Whether it is the shocking power of the crashing ocean waves during a storm, or the ambling stroll of a bear through your campsite, we are struck by a sense of wonder.
“Wonder is the basis of worship.” (Thomas Carlyle)
Curiosity Takes Us Deeper.
Upon reading God’s Word, asking curious questions will bring out more insight and meaning. The Holy Spirit will cause certain words, phrases and verses to pop out to catch our attention. When that happens, we need to ask questions about what we are reading to go deeper. I find that God speaks to my heart more clearly after I ask Him questions.
So... that question that 3-year-olds excel in asking - “WHY?” - is valuable and needs to be utilized by grownups, too.
Curiosity Enhances Leadership.
There is an openness embedded in remaining curious that is powerful for good leadership. As a leader, I’ve found that facilitating and fact finding from a place of curiosity is much more fruitful than lecturing. Asking one more question is sometimes the difference between making a good decision and a poor choice. Brené Brown also talks about the value of remaining calm in your leadership, defining calm as “the important (and weird) combination of (deep) breathing and curiosity.”
Curiosity Leads to More Fruitfulness.
Another way curiosity leads to life to the fullest is that curiosity is the door that the Holy Spirit opens for us to be more fruitful. When you are following the creative genius of the universe, and have the Holy Spirit living inside you, he will encourage your inquisitive side and lead you into all sorts of wonderful things.
It was Walt Disney who said,
“Keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things… your curiosity will lead you down the path of success.”
Let’s ask more questions. Let’s learn to listen more carefully. Let’s be attentive to His Spirit leading and guiding. Let’s step into a Godly form of curiosity for which our hearts were wired!
I look forward to seeing you next Sunday at our Worship Service in the Dome at 10:00 a.m.
You can also live stream our service on Facebook and YouTube at 10:00 a.m.
If you missed last week's message, "The Big Picture #14" (last message of this series), click here.
