Phillip Martin Art
Questioning Duo
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away … let’s just say for the sake of the story …
There was this technology that, when applied, would remove everything that a person believed, except for one single idea. All the complications and clutter of belief and dogma and doctrine and feelings and thoughts … just *poof* … gone. And only one idea would remain.
That solitary idea would be the center, the core, the pillar on which all the rest were constructed. The remaining idea would be the idea that served as the foundation of the house. It would be the heart of hearts of everything you believe to be true.
Got it? Do you see the concept? (Never mind how would it work, just play the game, okay?)
What would yours be?
What is your core idea? What is your single central belief on which all the rest are built? What’s the one idea that, if everything else were wiped away, you would hold on to with all your strength?
(Yes, just one. Again, just play the game!)
Please post your answer in the comment section, on Facebook, or on Twitter. I’m curious to read the responses.
Mine would be: Everybody matters. That would be My One Idea.
If everything else were taken away, I would cling to the idea that every single person is worth something. Not because of what they do or might do in the future, but simply because they exist. They matter because they are.
No matter your age or gender or wealth or health or race or religion or language or culture or nationality or anything else … YOU ARE IMPORTANT. For me, everything else builds upon that idea.
And that means that whenever that idea is challenged, I rise to defend it. Providing foster care, working for marriage equality, helping someone pay for a motel room, confronting racism, or just being nice to someone – it all comes back to believing that people matter. It shapes what I believe about God, who I believe Jesus is, how I identify the Holy Spirit, how I read scripture, what I think the church is about, and just about everything else.
So, I hope you’ll engage this little thought experiment with me. Here come the aliens with their belief-erasing devices! They have you in their sights! And … ZAP. All but one of your beliefs has just been eradicated.
What’s left?
The Rev. Andy Bryan is pastor of Campbell United Methodist Church in Springfield, Mo. He blogs at Enter the Rainbow.