Curiosity, according to the Webster’s 1828 dictionary, means, “A strong desire to see something novel, or to discover something unknown, either by research or inquiry; a desire to gratify the senses with a sight of what is new or unusual, or to gratify the mind with new discoveries; inquisitiveness … a nice experiment …” And overall, the connotation is a positive one. But is curiosity always a good thing?
I’ve been reading in Exodus this week, and last night came across a verse in Exodus 9, talking about the plagues of Egypt. Exodus 9:6-7 the ERV say, “The next morning all the farm animals in Egypt died, but none of the animals that belonged to the Israelites died. Pharaoh sent people to see if any of the animals of Israel died. Not one of them died. But Pharaoh remained stubborn and did not let the people go.” Do you see? Pharaoh sent people to check on the Israelites’ flocks because he was curious, because this was new, because it was a “nice experiment” to see what this Hebrew God was up to. Yet his curiosity did not result in repentance. And thus, his curiosity brought death and destruction to his life and the lives of countless Egyptians.
Likewise, in our churches today, I see a lot of people attending simply out of curiosity, praying out of curiosity, experimenting in faith to see what God might do. They come to be around other people that God is working in and through just to see what it looks like. And it concerns me. Curiosity without repentance, that does not result in a change in behavior, is not godly. Curiosity without commitment, without sacrifice, without pursuit of God – lends itself to destruction.
We must be careful, friends, that we don’t allow ourselves to become apathetic, merely curious about the things of God. Curiosity did more than kill a cat, as the saying goes … it destroyed the Pharaoh.
So what do we do? We press in. We seek God with determination and focus and a faith that isn't "just trying" this Christianity thing.
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