My college degree is in Information Systems. I love computer systems. As an IT professional, I have found that my edge comes from my understanding of how systems work. Because I understand the system’s processes end to end, I am easily able to decipher when something is wrong, and what the “culprit” is.
What it takes others 3 hours to fix, I can fix in 3 minutes, because I know how it should work – all things being equal. In order for me to know how things work, I have to spend time going through the manual and ensuring that I not just memorize what is going on, but that I also understand it end to end. My college professor, Jerry Flatto taught me to “play with the system”, “Don’t be afraid to break it”, he said, “until you thoroughly understand it, until the system and you become friends”.
John 4, brings us into an encounter with Jesus and a Samaritan woman who had issues. She seemed to be smart and witty. She understood that Jews did not interact with Samaritans, she also understood that Jacob built the well from which Jesus was asking her for a drink. But she she did not understand the cause of her troubles, she did not understand the system – Ceteris Paribus. Jesus did. And so after chatting a while with her, contacting her spirit, he zeroed in to the cause of her problems. He said,
Go , call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said , I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said , I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly – John 4:16-18
All things being equal, she ought to have one husband and dwell with that one man. That was the root cause of her problems. That did it. Troubleshooting was over, the system could now function properly, as designed. The woman was not just saved that day, she also became an instant evangelist, speaking of what had happened, to her people, and winning many souls to Christ.
If you don’t know how something works when it is working, how are you going to know how to fix it if it breaks? Read and understand the manual (Bible) because this makes life so much easier to navigate. By reading the word of God, you attain a sound mind, the mind of Christ. Decision’s are filtered through this mind map and a course of action is plotted against it. Decisions that take people 2 weeks to come by, you can come to in 2 days, because you understand how the system works. You can know all men because you know the creator of all men. You can offer wise counsel to others in trouble because you understand how things should work – Ceteris Paribus.