I thought I might share a bit of my reading again this week. I have been fascinated to read The Art of Asking Better Questions by JR Briggs (IVP ISBN 978 1 5140 1111 9)
I am wondering what the initials JR stand for. Perhaps I will get to ask the author at some point!
This book came to me at just the right time because I had been thinking of doing a series on the great questions of the Bible that would include God’s questions to the fallen Adam, “Where are you?” to the groundbreaking question of Jesus, “Who do you say that I am?”
It would have been possible for God to have said, “I know what you have been doing and now you are in trouble!” He could have asked a question that came in the form of an accusation, “Adam, what on earth have you done?” Instead, God asks a question that leaves a space for Adam to respond. God’s question to Adam left the door open for Adam to be honest and show signs of repentance, even though the outcome was evasion and blame shifting.
Jesus’ question to his disciples comes after a more general question, “Who do men say that I am?” It was a question that got them thinking before the more personal question was asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Such questions open a conversation and offer an invitation to enter more fully into a relationship with Jesus.
Jesus asked more than 300 questions in the Gospels and we would do well to learn from him. Yet for many Christians in the 21st Century, asking questions is a lost art.
Have you noticed how that in many conversations you might be asking questions about the other person, but they do not ask you any questions?
Why is it that people seem reluctant to ask questions?
Is it a lack of imagination?
Is it a lack of interest in anybody other than themselves?
We are poorer for not asking more questions.
Maybe asking good questions is part of what it means to “love your neighbour as yourself.”
This is certainly true of questions that seek to get to the heart of what a person is doing, feeling or longing for in their lives. This means that we need to pay attention to people, observe their lives, listen to what they say, and pick up their verbal and non-verbal signals.
I have observed that taking an interest in another person and asking questions does have an impact on them. You can almost hear the cogs turning in their brains as they begin wondering why another person should be interested in them.
“Asking great questions has the power and potential to improve the quality of every single area of life — your relationships, your career, your faith, and your future. It can have a significant impact on your neighbourhoods, schools, churches, workplaces, and online. In fact, there’s not a single area where improving the quality of your questions you ask won’t improve the quality of your life and the lives the lives of those around you.” (JR Briggs)
What is holding you back from asking better questions?
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