Brains and humility

My sister was a pretty average student through college. Public schools graciously forced her to retain all kinds of useful knowledge that transfer well into the daily life of average people, including European history, trigonometry, and chemistry.

It wasn’t until she found her thing that it became apparent just how smart she is. 

The last 10 years or so, my sister has taught the good news of Jesus, and the story of God, to more people than I’ve met in my life. She holds multiple post-graduate degrees and can run intellectual circles around atheists (not that this is her goal, it’s just true).

I’m a Christ-follower as well (albeit one much less reflective of His grace, compassion, and patience than her) but often call or text her with serious devil’s advocate positions related to Christianity about which I’m genuinely curious.

It is rare that she doesn’t have an incredibly solid response. It usually becomes clear after about two minutes of chatting with her that I’m the one who doesn’t know what the hell I’m talking about.

But what always strikes me is that, even on the off chance I have a decent point, my sister never dogmatically fights to “win” the discussion. Unlike almost anyone else I know who really, really knows a topic well, she is willing to throw up her hands and say, “I don’t know.”

I’ve never met a doctor, lawyer, engineer, pastor, or academic of any kind who can so readily do this. And when they do, it’s more of a “tail between the legs” sort of moment for them.

Not for my sister. She is trying to teach people about the supernatural God of the universe, the Creator of all things, and the One who transcends time and space. In her humility, she is willing to say what needs to be said from time to time: “I don’t know.”

I’ve become so accustomed to “experts” who have no capacity for not knowing, regardless of how frequently they are proven wrong. It’s exhausting.

I’m a proud and grateful brother; she sets an example for a society occupied by incessant bickering, heated online debates, and increasing polarization.

In a world full of know-it-alls, we’d all do well to be more like my sister.