Wait Wait, Don't Help Me!

I'm an avid NPR listener. One of my favorite programs is a weekly show, called Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me. Its a news quiz, in which they ask people bizarre questions to news-related (but sometimes totally obscure) questions, and its really quite funny. I enjoy it alot, but there's one game they play, called Bluff the Listener, where I almost always guess wrong. This is the story of my life. Give me time to study and prepare, and I'll apply myself and get an A. But give me random questions about things I know nothing about, with a 30% chance of getting the right answer, and I'll almost always pick the wrong one. It drives me nuts.

Fortunately, the people who play are usually better guessers than I am. But here's the thing: I was listening to the show the other day, and the guest did something totally unprecedented: he asked the audience. Now, this isn't Millionaire, and people usually don't do that sort of thing. Its sink or swim on your own, which is the way our society operates too. Either you get it right, using whatever resources you carry in your own brain, or you don't. Too bad.

But as I sit here, contemplating a major career decision, it occurs to me that while you can't study up on all aspects of life and guarantee yourself an A, you can rely on more than just your own brain power. You can ask for help from your friends, your family and even from random people you meet on the street, but most importantly, from God. And you can use these answers to help you make decisions that seem too complex to figure out on your own.

Of course, if you ask three different people about a decision (as I have) you'll get three different answers. But that's the beauty of it, and I believe God's wisdom is in each one. So while society may say "Wait Wait, Don't Help Me", I'm with the one guy on the show who decided to poll the audience to get the best chance of getting the answer right.

If you listen to the show, you'll know that he actually got it wrong, but that's not the point. It was inspiring just to hear him ask. The point is, we are in it together. This is the way life is intended to be, the true meaning of community.

We have been put here to support each other, to guide each other, and to challenge and encourage each other. When we reach out and ask a friend for advice, we're living that out, and by connecting ourselves, we exponentially increase our chances of getting it right, even when we get it wrong.

Here's to faith in the community we build!