How to Think and Act with Precision

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Written by Jimmie Burroughs Email this article to a friend

There is a story that has been circulating on the Internet for some time, and it is concerning Joshua’s missing day of the Bible. The story first appeared in a book written by Harold Hill and published in 1969 about an incident that allegedly took place at NASA space center. Scientists supposedly discovered that there were a missing day in their calculations and a Christian on the staff told them about the missing day in the Bible that answered the question for them. Accepting this story is an example of failing to think with precision.

Today, many people seem to have generally lost the ability to think critically and act with precision. When you apply the precise science of mathematics to the Harold Hill story, it breaks down, because in order for NASA to discover a missing day would necessitate a knowledge that goes back past Joshua’s missing day to the very precise instant that the earth started its first revolution around the sun, and nobody knows that except God Himself. For Christians to take any notice to such stories, is unneeded. The Bible does not need proof. It is the truth and is never yet  proven untrue.

We do not need to find a Noah’s ark or the Ark of the Covenant or anything else. We accept God’s word by faith. Not blind faith because there is plenty of evidence from fulfilled prophesy, history and science to validate the scripture beyond any doubt, but faith in God is the essence of Christian belief. We can rely on faith because God, in the past, proves faithfulness, in all He says and does.

Thinking and acting with precision is a learned ability. It requires an active mind. A lazy mind accepts what is generally believed without testing it to see if it is valid.

Throughout history, man has relied on science to guide their beliefs. The problem with relying completely on science is that science is ever changing and cannot be relied on for absolute truth. The science of the 1400s, during the time of Columbus, was that the world was flat. Navigational instruments were designed on the premise that a ship could sail right off the edge into who knows what. We know better today, but they did not. They could have if they read and believed the Bible, which says, “He  sitteth on the circle of the earth” ( Isaiah 40:22) which means a globe, not a flat geometrical circle as in geometry. I have always had the feeling that Christopher Columbus knew and believed that verse of Scripture.

Accepting everything by blind faith is the lazy and easy way out; it requires no thought. Drugs are an immense problem today and a prime example of thinking and acting without precision. No one who takes the time to research the effects of drugs on the body and what it costs in terms of money and loss of health would dare use them. Instead of thinking and acting with precision, a person, usually young, often yields to someone’s suggestion to try drugs and feel the sensation. They are blindly led to the slaughter like a dumb and uninformed sheep. “Sheeple,” is an appropriate name for those who fail to think and act with precision, those who have the mind of a sheep and are led around or driven right into harm’s way.

To be able to think and act with precision requires three things:

1.   Study, which produces knowledge

2.   Discipline and courage to Decide for yourself

3.   Wisdom and the use of knowledge to make right decisions

Study, which produces knowledge:

Ignorance can never think with precision any more than a car can run without gas. It takes an active and energetic mind to gain knowledge. Lazy minds are content watching passive entertainment on TV. Active minds want to learn everything possible. While having knowledge is absolute for precision thinking and acting, it is not all that is necessary.

Discipline and courage to Decide for yourself:

An undisciplined mind with no courage is sucked into dumb things. For example, someone says’ “Hey, man try this it will give you a high like you never had before.” “Duh, OK if you say so; let me try it.” Discipline and courage say, “Oh yeah, what is it?” “That doesn’t matter just try it.” “You think I’m stupid; get away from me.”

I do not accept things because someone says it even if it is a famous person who is supposed to know. I want solid evidence before I make a decision that affects my health, my future or my life. It takes discipline and courage to go in the opposite direction from the crowd, but it can save you a lot of pain as well as save your life.

Wisdom to make right decisions:

Wisdom is the ability to use knowledge to make the best possible decision. For example, if you know the dangers of using drugs, you know that the body requires more and more as time goes by to reach the same high. You know that the expenses of a drug habit get astronomically and outrageously expensive with time. You know that drugs will eventually destroy your body, your relationships and your future, but you still choose to use them anyway. That is making a decision, and acting, directly opposite of wisdom. Wisdom does not make stupid decisions! When you apply not only wisdom, but also all three of the above principles, they will enable you  to think and act with precision.

About the author: Jimmie Burroughs is a motivational speaker and author who has been involved in teaching Christian Personal Development for more than 30 years. There are hundreds of articles to help you on this website (Website Contents) in your personal growth.

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