I DON'T KNOW

A few years ago we were on vacation in Florida and as we were driving Mackenzie our oldest child said, "dad, what are those round basketball looking things on the power lines?" Of course being an all knowing dad I said, "well you know sweetie there is an excellent explanation for why those are there, in fact they begin using this methodology for securing power lines back in the 40's and...." at that point Mackenzie interrupted me and said, "dad, you don't have a clue do you." All I could say was "No, I don't." Tyra and Mackenzie and the other two family members riding with us just laughed and laughed after I got called out by an 8 year old. I wanted my daughter to think I knew everything and than I could answer any question that she had. The truth is the best response that day should have been, I don't know but when we get back to the room I will do some research and find out.
As Christians we are all asked questions at times that we have know idea the answer to. The temptation is to try to give an answer that sounds good even though it is not the correct answer. The truth is that some times the best thing we can say to questions asked is, "I don't know the answer to that, but I will try to find the answer." Two things happen when we do this.
1. We grow because we are forced to find the answer to a question we previously did not know.
2. The person asking the question usually gains respect for us because of our transparency and if and when we find the answer they are given an accurate explanation for the question asked.
So the next time that you are asked a question that you don't know the answer to don't be a know it all, just say, "I DON'T KNOW, BUT I WILL TRY TO FIND THE ANSWER AND GET BACK TO YOU."
Jason Whitehurst
Lead Pastor