THINK!” was emblazoned on the whiteboard in class. I would write that on the first day for new students in my Bible college class on hermeneutics. My goal was not to teach the young people what to think but how to think. Of course, we all think as a primary function of life, but to think below the surface, to wrestle with ideas, to understand other people’s perspectives, and ultimately to interpret what the writers of Scripture were saying and why they were saying it—that is hard, mental work.

Thinking at this level is not just memorizing the right things to say to fit in with what is politically correct, at least among one’s peers or affinity group. There’s an old story of a Sunday school teacher trying to stimulate his junior high boys to talk and interact in class. He kept asking increasingly simple questions but to no avail. Finally, hoping for any kind of verbal response, he asked, “OK, boys, what is small, brown, has four legs, a bushy tail, and stores nuts for the winter?” Finally, one boy gingerly spoke up, “Uh, I think it’s a squirrel, but just to be safe, I’ll say Jesus.”

THINK! Think biblically. Think spiritually. Think theologically. It will not do to repeat Christian jargon or code words. Even the task of thinking politically takes work. Some write that off because the word “politics” is heavily tainted by the characters practicing it. John F. Kennedy (JFK), 35th President of the United States, once said (or repeated the words of a speech writer): “Too often we … enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”[i] There will be differing views at every level of human interaction unless one side shelves their brain. We may hear words, analyze their literal meaning, and quickly judge the “real” meaning, even (and most often) when we are blinded by or threatened by their disagreement.

How can I learn to disagree with someone well if I don’t understand what they are saying beyond the snippet in question? Listening and understanding an opposing view does not mean agreeing with that view. It does mean doing the hard work of listening to another human being created in God’s image. And maybe it will result in my changing my mind, or the other changing their mind. Or it may mean remaining in disagreement—but the disagreement is clearer now rather than just writing off the different viewpoint as opinionated or ignorant.

So, how can we learn to think better? Here are some suggestions. Ask those with whom we disagree or don’t understand for an explanation of their thinking. Why is that important to them? What do you want me to hear in your statements? What do you fear? What would persuade you to change your view of the matter? What am I missing about your viewpoint? Where do you think my blind spots are? Let me restate what I think you are saying in my own words, and tell me if I understand your thinking correctly. Would you do the same with me?

With Scripture, thinking deeply to interpret it well comes by learning to ask good, perceptive questions; they are like mental crowbars to help us discover meaning. Who is involved in the passage, what is happening, where, when, and why? What does this passage say about God, about humans, and the relationship between God and us? Observe the details, the repetitions, the contrasts, the sequences, the causes and effects. The list goes on.

Don’t just read on the surface, THINK!

[i] Wit and Wisdom of the American Presidents: A Book of Quotations (Dover Thrift Editions: Speeches/Quotations), 2012.