Relational Gradus - Curiosity (continued)

Once again, we didn't have opportunity to role play. A question that one might ask is: "What is so important about role playing?" or "What is your obsession with role playing?" Well, first, I have many obsessions, so I don't want to take you down that road. :)

Now, let's think of role playing as trying on clothes at the store. In that process, we ensure they fit properly, we check out our overall appearance, we decide if alterations are necessary, and if our significant other or friend agrees with our assessment. Sometimes, we think we look pretty sharp, only to answer the knock on our door one day to see Stacy and Clinton standing there (What Not To Wear)! The process might be easier with clothes and a mirror. But, when it comes to how we think, talk, and act it's nearly impossible, without help, to get an accurate assessment in our interactions with others. (You may recall that we touched on this "think, talk, act" concept of free will when we had The Garden Model discussion. If you're interested, please feel free to bring it up and we can take a few minutes to review the concept.)

Role playing allows us to consider the mental and perception reflections from others much as a mirror affords the visual reflections. When we hear and consider what folks think and perceive as they observe us, we can learn some invaluable insight. As it has been said, what people perceive you to be is who you are to them. Now, don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that we become obsessive (remember, I have lots of those points) about what others think of us. However, we would be remiss if we simply ignored input from others. Okay, enough on that.

In our March 16th session we talked about what genuine curiosity is about. Here is a simple diagram to help refresh your memory. In it we can see that curiosity spans a spectrum from bad to good. The highest goal would be to align ourselves to a thinking that Jesus extols in Luke 18:16 MSG by taking a child-like attitude to our approach to the Kingdom - which is exclusively relational in essence. As the diagram portrays, our curiosity can be veiled in many ways. The more we become aware of our curious nature, the more we can effect positive change of that nature.

Homework assignment for Monday, March 23rd
Observe relational interactions with others and note the following:

• When do you observe YOURSELF showing child-like curiosity or not?
• Come prepared to share your observations (at least one for each of the above)

We are on a learning journey with God. He has so much to teach us and we have so much growing up to do when it comes to relationships. Be challenged to change your thinking to align more with God's thinking (Romans 12:2 NLT). Thanks for reading and joining me in this journey!!

"Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions." - Oliver Wendell Holmes


Blessings!