“And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t answer your question either.”

Many years ago, it was told to me that a point of view was worth ten IQ points.  Given that I need as many IQ points as possible, I never forgot that lesson and have passed it on to many others.  I have done so, because even though we can’t equate really how much intelligence is perceived by having a point of view, it is true that when in a meeting or any setting that there will be more people without a point of view than those who have one and speak it openly. When in doubt, express what you are thinking with confidence and others will listen.  Sure, some will judge, others will ridicule and many will disagree, but at the end of the day, the points are earned by those who speak up.

Jesus asked the leading priests and teachers of the time a hard question.  Before they answered they spoke among themselves and decided that it would be better to just say, “We don’t know” rather than have to defend their answer as a stance as their point of view.  So Jesus responded back by telling them that He wouldn’t answer either. He was trying to get these learned men to give their point of view and when they refused, He withdrew from the conversation.  I read this as a valuable lesson for us as we attempt to bring glory to Him as the purpose of our daily work.  He wants to be in the conversation with us and equips us daily to carry the conversation forward for Him into our work and relationships, but when we stand down and don’t bring our point of view forward, He is telling us that we are not modeling what He asks of us.  I think we can get hung up sometimes on whether or not we are doing God’s work in the marketplace because we aren’t “evangelizing” daily.  Sure, there are opportunities to share our love of Jesus to others and what He has done in our lives and we should not pass up those moments, however He is also giving us times to speak up for the values by which He has taught us to live and work by; truth, grace, mercy, forgiveness, patience, kindness, generosity,  etc.  When we pass up having a point of view on those things, we are removing ourselves from very important conversations.

Reference:  Luke 20:8 (New Living Translation)