Seeking a reasonable certainty about matters of great importance is hard work. It involves gut-level questioning and thinking through what is real and how things fit together.
It requires a willingness to have been wrong and to change course accordingly.
As we seek to help others and be helped by them on this life-long journey of having our ideas fit reality, it's impossible to avoid discussing, working through, and weighing all the voices that claim truth (including those voices that say the truth is that the truth can't be known).
This is messy stuff. By necessity it gets in our crawl sometimes. It makes us uncomfortable to wrestle with these things ourselves, let alone with other people.
But we must do it.
Disagreement and perspiration can be found among even the best friends who are wrestling with such weighty matters.
It's difficult to search for truth and sift through the different claims while maintaining the realization that it is a loving thing we are doing and that we should keep our demeanor as a humble yet keen one; One of real humility yet of boldness and challenge.
I'm unfortunately well aware that I seldom meld these attributes well for myself.
But I'll keep trying.
It's a disservice to the effort to only love and not challenge, and it is an equal disservice to only challenge and not love.
Truthfully, challenge should not offend us. Honest push-back should be welcomed.
Yet we must receive and give it with that aforementioned mixture of "tactical force with humility".
Jesus called it "wise as a serpent and innocent as a dove".
I realize I have long way to go to follow the Master's example.
I guess I'm asking all of you to pray that I represent Him better and learn to humbly love and boldly challenge the way He would have me to.
Terry Hollifield
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phronimoi - φρόνιμοι
Definition: practically wise, sensible
Usage: intelligent, prudent, sensible, wise
phrónimos (an adjective, derived from phrḗn, "personal perspective regulating outward behavior," and the root of the English term "diaphragm" which controls key body functions from the inside out) – properly, "how we size things up," reflecting our personal ("visceral" ) opinions, i.e. what we consider "savvy" (smart). This always roots to our personal perspective ("inner outlook" ) which regulates our definition of being "shrewd," i.e. reflects personal mind-set (insight).
akeraioi - ἀκέραιοι
Definition: unmixed, pure
Usage: (lit: unmixed) simple, unsophisticated, sincere, blameless.
akéraios (an adjective, derived from "not" and keránnymi, "mingled" ) – properly, not mixed (mingled); not a destructive mixture because not tainted by sinful motives (ambitions); pure (unmingled)
