Is it Wrong to Think You Could Be Wrong?

For years I have had this sign on my office door, “Think that You May Be Wrong.” But I feel obligated to ask myself, what if I’m wrong?   

What if emphasizing doubt over faith makes some people lose their faith?  What if most people are not built to be unsure about what they hold most dear?  What if being confused, lacking trust and living with so many open questions is not healthy for human beings?  What if thinking you are wrong disorients people and makes them feel lost?  What if asking questions which never receive any answers is a waste of time and energy?  What if thinking you could be wrong is just plain wrong?

As I begin a new semester, I am asking myself these questions.  And I am asking myself, if my emphasis on remembering the Holocaust has caused people to be frightened by the human potential for evil and dismayed by the apparent silence or absence of God during that horrific event?

I understand and share these reservations.  But if we are going to be people who live by faith, we are going to have to assume certain risks.  Faith is trusting without knowing for sure.  And when you don’t know for sure there will be moments, times and events in your life when your trust will seem to be misplaced or wrong.  This is life itself causing us to wonder if we could be wrong.  And, by the way, we could be wrong!

So, I get it!  Thinking you could be wrong can be a threat.  But remember, thinking you could be wrong does not mean you are wrong.  It means we are committed to searching for wisdom.  If we are going to be truthful about the fragility of our faith; if we are open to correcting those beliefs that are mistaken, if we can each have a healthy sense of humility, we will realize we could be wrong and it’s not the end of the world.  Hold on tightly to your faith, defend it, but do not be afraid to listen to those who disagree.  And change what needs to be changed.

Having said all that, it remains appropriate for me, at the beginning of another semester, to realize the risks and questions associated with thinking you could be wrong, though those risks and questions are at the very heart of faith and will not go away.

Great Quote from Mark Twain, “It’s not what we don’t know that gets us into trouble.  It’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so.”