Ideas and People

While ideas come from people and all people have ideas, there are necessary distinctions between the two. Sometimes we forget this. For my sake and, perhaps, for yours, I'm bringing up a few of those distinctions.

It is entirely possible for good people to have bad ideas. It is equally possible for bad people to have good ideas. When we are examining an idea, it is only marginally useful to examine the person floating the idea. Ideas need to be examined on their merit, not on the source. There is a distinction, then, between the person and the idea.

In a similar vein, it is entirely possible to love a person and hate their idea(s). Christians are mandated to "love one another". About this there can be no question. We are commanded to love, and love is not based on the proper ideas a person may or may not have. That is, nowhere are we told, "Love those of your neighbors whose ideas are good." Just as we can "love the sinner but hate the sin", it is equally possible to love people with bad ideas. Conversely, we have no biblical justification for hating people with bad ideas. Hate the bad ideas, sure, but not the people.

Finally, there is a stark difference between ideas and people. It is one thing to consider lofty ideas, mull over biblical "right and wrong", consider and analyze important issues from a logical perspective, and so on. It is another thing to apply those considerations to people. We can, for instance, examine the Scriptures to determine that God is indeed sovereign and all things work together for good and nothing occurs that He does not allow for good reasons and all that, but when you're face to face with a mother who just lost her baby in a sudden accident, these ideas are not going to help. Thus we are commanded "Let no unwholesome words come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear" (Eph 4:29).

We live in a fallen world. One of the fundamental aspects of that fallen world is the demise of good thinking. In Romans 1, two descriptors are offered for standard human thinking: "futile in their thinking" and "debased mind". Since we are commanded to love God with, among other things, "all your mind", and since we are commanded to "be transformed by the renewal of your mind", it is good and necessary that we, as Christians, think. However, it is also important that we love our neighbors. We need to keep this in mind when we examine ideas and involve ourselves with people. We need to examine ideas and we need to love those around us. That means we need to contend for the truth, and we need to express it in such a way that it gives grace to those who hear. We need to know the truth and share it from the perspective of love. Let's not forget either side.