Several years ago, someone questioned my beliefs of speaking in tongues. He didn’t argue with me, he just wanted to know why I believed what I believed. I wasn’t sure how to answer him. A trustworthy person, earlier in life, had taught me something, and I adopted it as my own belief, no questions asked. Now the question was being asked. And I had no response.

Because of that experience, I have really become a student of the Word. I don’t want to just take on something because it sounds true. I want to be able to back up what I believe if ever questioned. In addition, I also like to ask the question that was asked of me “why do you believe that?” That question, as it did for me several years ago, has sparked many a conversations. Unfortunately, it has also sparked many arguments.

When did it become wrong to question someone? Is it that offensive to know someone’s thought process on his or her beliefs? Have we become so defensive that everything is interpreted as attack? Are our beliefs so absurd we would never want to share our reasoning with a person who genuinely wants to know our thoughts on the matter? Could we not learn from one another by questioning others? Is this not what Proverbs 27:17 mean when it says: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another”?

Could it be that when we question someone’s beliefs, we get to know him or her a little better? Or if we are the ones being questioned, could it be an opportunity to share our beliefs with someone who may believe as we do? We are so quick to tell people when we are right and they are not, that we often forget that there is only One that knows it all and we are never too wise to learn something new!