A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus, from his book, The Genius of Jesus (p. 32). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)
That is a very interesting and challenging thought.
Erwin continues, "The question that demands to be answered is: Where did it go, and what would you be willing to do to reawaken the genius within you?"
He says, "I’ve interviewed countless people and taken hundreds of informal surveys while speaking to audiences around the world. When I ask a room, 'How many of you would describe yourselves as creative geniuses?' the number of people who answer affirmatively is usually less than 1 percent. Ninety-nine percent of the room consider themselves uncreative, and at best wish they were creative like those they admire.
"I usually ask a follow-up question: 'How many of you would consider yourselves linguistic savants?' The number who say they do is even less than 1 percent. If the room is full of Americans, most of them speak only English. Who thinks they’re a linguistic savant when they only know one language?
"But I remind them they all learned to speak one of the most difficult and complex languages in the world around the age of two. How does an infant learn English if they’re not a linguistic savant? I propose to them that if they had moved somewhere else in the world at that age, they would have learned that language just as easily. If they had moved to Tokyo, they would have learned Japanese as if it were their first language. If they had moved to Manila, they would have spoken Tagalog. If they had moved to Rio de Janeiro, they would have spoken Portuguese. And of course, if they had moved to London, they would have learned the Queen’s English."
He goes on, "The fact is, every child is a linguistic savant. They may have convinced their brain they only needed to know one language, but their brain was always capable of doing the incredible.
"The same is true in other areas of our lives. You had to be taught to color inside the lines. You had to be taught to think inside the box. You had to be taught that the right answers are what make you right. Your natural instinct was to think outside the box. By design you were a divergent thinker. We had to educate the creativity out of you. Before you were twelve, you were a prodigy. I’m not sure who you are now, but I know the potential you were created with.
"History has proven that genius expressed in childhood does not guarantee success in adulthood. For every child prodigy whose early gifting foreshadowed a life of creative genius, there are ten more whose stories ended early, in either tragedy or underachievement. Far too often, the burden of talent discovered too soon is too heavy for one human to carry. When genius lacks character, it becomes the material of madness.
"But what if genius was rooted in the character of the person, in characteristics such as integrity, fidelity, even humility? We most often consider genius as an expression of talent, of 'what you do.' We rarely think of genius as an expression of essence, or 'what you are.' Jesus changes the category of genius from talent and intellect to essence and wisdom. This may be the principal reason we forget him when we talk about human genius."
Erwin then says, "Jesus is quoted as saying that unless we become like children, we will never enter the kingdom of heaven. He also said that his father has hidden from the wise that which he has revealed to little children. Maybe there is more to those teachings than meets the eye. Perhaps the best way to see who we as humans can become is to see ourselves through the eyes of a child."
Now that is very interesting, isn't it? Yes, yes! #continuethought
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