The Bible on Wisdom: 169 Teaching Mantras

COMMON SENSE. The phrase has come to mean the practice of right judgment in practical matters. But the phrase assumes two basic ideas. “Sense” is wisdom, a deep grounding in discernment; some might say a person is quite perceptive or understanding. The individual then applies the accumulated insights from life to particular concerns. “Common” takes for granted that there is an assumed thinking for all people, places, times, and cultures. A universal ideal exists which is then applied in some local reality.

When we say a person has “common sense” we generally mean they are taking the best of what they have studied about humanity and human relations, then using it to make a decision. Hebraic-Christian thinking suggests that “common sense” is Wisdom embedded in  world for the benefit of all humanity (Proverbs 8:12-36). We make sense of what is common from One who has our best interests at heart.

Flipping an idea on its head or turning a concept upside down is often my approach to opposing claims. “What if?” is a fair question of any position. When the Jews approached Jesus about the murder of their countrymen by the Romans in Luke 13, Jesus did not take the bait, an opportunity to agree or disagree. He chose a third approach. His response shatters the original concern. Instead of being concerned about the sin of the Romans or the sin of those who were killed, Jesus shines a light on the sin of those who brought the charge. The Son of Man’s intention seems clear: each of us must consider our own eternal state.

Proverbial statements and questions in my classes over the years have followed Jesus’ process. Instead of pointing fingers at others I ask us all to look in the mirror. What is true of me? What should I change? How am I culpable for my actions?

Enigmatic, thoughtful statements leave space for people to ponder. Declarative, assertive statements suggest dogmatic positions. Far from a belief that “we can know nothing for sure” is the understanding that everything is known – just not by us.

“If I can’t show you how it applies, it won’t be on the test.” Over the decades of teaching, my intention is practicality. Teaching should be useful. I am a pragmatic person; I like to see how ideas work in real life. However, the origin of ideas – to me – makes the most sense being rooted in Eternal Truth.

Short and sweet. I am a big believer in Proverbial wisdom; crisp, condensed sayings that capture attention with straightforward instruction. Here are 169 mantras heard in my classrooms over four decades of teaching. I would never expect universal agreement; but I hope each gives you pause. They still do for me.

1. My views of authority and humanity impact everything else
2. There are no moral vacuums
3. Every tick of the clock brings us one second closer to death

4. Justice is impossible if it’s left up to just us

5. Gratitude is the basis for ethics
6. Complexity is a marker of design

7. Everyone bows the knee to something

8. The private affects the public
9. Choice is consequence
10. Ideas change people, people change a culture
11. Just because the road is well traveled does not mean it’s the right path.
12. Gratitude and discipline are the twin pillars of life.

13. Everything is theological

14. When evaluating another point of view, ask, “What am I *not* hearing?”
15. Whoever controls the definition, controls the conversation.
16. Every audience asks the same questions: “So What?” “Who cares?” “Why am I listening to you?”
17. Communication of any subject should be what Emily Dickenson said: “Tell It Slant.”
18. Narrative in this world comes from Another World.
19. “Common sense” has an uncommon source.

20. Everyone everywhere seeks answers to the same questions.

21. If we don’t have a philosophy of life, one will be provided for us.
22. Everyone has doctrine.
23. Movies are beliefs wrapped in stories.
24. Think, or thinking will be done for you.
25. Just like nature, culture abhors a vacuum. Vacuums fill by those who fill them first.

26. Our theology drives our sociology.

27. The monster in the mirror is scarier than the monster under the bed.
28. “Courage” is knowing what to fear.
29. “Good” must exist for us to know what “evil” is.
30. Saying something is “wrong” assumes you know the standard for “right.”
31. Social conscience begins by looking in the mirror.

32. Where we spend our time and money shows our commitments.

33. Mystery cannot exist without certainty
34. Life has limitations
35. To make a difference, we have to be different
36. Life is not made from straight lines
37. “That’s boring!” says more about the speaker than the subject.

38. “Who says?” is the first question to answer in life.

39. “The pursuit of happiness” can become the pursuit of emptiness.
40. Is “choice” a servant or a master?
41. Time plus chance cannot deliver purpose.
42. The phrase “social justice” prompts two questions: “What is your social?” and “What is your basis for justice?”
43. Doing good is the best response to what is bad.

44. There can be no peace without justice and no justice without a righteousness

45. “Materialism” is not what we have, but what has us.
46. If human rights come from government, government can take human rights away
47. Everyone is a leader somewhere, most importantly, in one’s own life.
48. If all we see is “wrong,” we will never appreciate anything that is right.
49. “Progressive” thinkers should acknowledge when progress has been made.
50. “Conservative” thinkers should acknowledge progress must continue to be made.

51. If you blame God for the “bad” do you thank Him for the “good”?

52. Evolution by impersonal forces gives no basis for planetary responsibility
53. God does not wear a watch

54. “Legacy” is not so much what you leave behind but who you leave behind.

55. The graveyard schools the schoolyard
56. Just because someone knows more than you, doesn’t make them right.
57. My environment may accentuate my behavior but is not the root cause of it.
58. Life is not a crap shoot

59. Where you’ve come from, and where you’re going to, helps you know how to live now.

60. Every day everyone puts their trust in something or someone.
61. Experience is a teacher but not necessarily the best one
62. Trying to make sense of the world takes more than our senses
63. If we come from the ground, up, we are nothing more than dirt.
64. Permanent truth helps us make personal decisions

65. The more difficult question to answer is not “Why do bad things happen to good people?” but “Why do bad people do good things?”

66. With apologies to Billy Joel, we *did* start the fire
67. Internal change depends on an external change agent.
68. What we do now counts later
69. Our reason for living is a question of how we got here.
70. Unity is the basis for community.

71. What do you want to be known for?

72. What must I know, be, and do because of what I’ve learned?
73. The finite cannot define the infinite
74. “Ownership” is my one-word definition of student-centered education.

75. You can’t have the Christian fruit without the Christian root.

76. If we don’t remember who we are, it won’t matter what we do.
77. We live in the tension between ideal and real
78. “Tension” – not “balance” – best explains how we live in a world of contrasts

79. Thinking begins with views of origins and ends

80. History begins in Eternity
81. Assertion is not argument
82. God’s longsuffering and justice are the bookends of history

83. The Creator created creatures who creatively create from creation.

84. What is written on pen with paper was first written on the human heart
85. Mathematical patterns are a result of design
86. Humans do not create truth, they discover it
87. Production from and protection of creation is human responsibility.

88. The three rules of interpretation: 1. Context 2. Context 3. Context

89. Speaking badly of others tells us most about the speaker
90. Encourage in writing, criticize in person
91. “What did it mean for them, then?” precedes “What does it mean for us, now?”

92. Using the word “should” means you are dedicated to a system of ethics

93. Inclusivity depends on exclusivity
94. “Racism” is a matter of the human heart
95. Don’t believe me. Go study for yourselves.
96. Ethics never change; they only await our application
97. Give people space and grace. We do not know what unseen horrors they may face

98. My disagreement with you matters little if I don’t care for you

99. The whole of Christian responsibility can be summarized in one word: Others.
100. Begin sentences with “I need to” instead of “I wish they would”

101. If you question a document’s historicity, then you begin to question its authenticity and ultimately, its authority

102. Historical truth depends on documentation; scientific truth depends on experimentation.
103. Revelation rules reason
104. Reality is not what we make it but what is
105. The natural world depends on the supernatural world
106. The source of discord in all relationships comes from either refused or abused authority.
107. All knowledge should be evaluated by the S. P. U. D. test: Is it sensible, practical, universal, and dependable?

108. All truth originates from, is united by, and is, God’s Truth

109. Instruction is for transformation, not information
110. Christianity’s view of salvation is the difference between two five-letter words: based on GRACE, all other religions & worldviews depend on WORKS.

111. Teaching of any kind depends on both content and communication. The first without the second is lifeless. The second without the first is foundationless.
112. There is a God-shaped-hole in each person
113. Something is not true because it works, it works because it’s true.

114. There is no defense against love

115. Love is the best apologetic
116. Expectations: we tend to lower them for ourselves but want everyone else to meet ours.
117. The difference between “fascism” and “communism” is spelling.
118. If we speak about what is good, the bad will be harder to hear.

119. Jesus removed social boundaries simply by being with all social classes.

120. If you only learn to follow an authority’s words without thought, you will allow anyone with the loudest voice or the most letters behind her name to sway your thinking.

121. The greatest theological phrase: “But God.”

122. When citizens reject God, the state becomes God.
123. No one ever teaches because they think they’re wrong.
124. Jesus does not see human status; He sees human need.
125. The teacher who teaches best, teaches least
126. If we never think we could be wrong, we already are.

127. Autonomy is its own tyranny.

128. “Labels” maintain manufactured design; helpful in finding ketchup, death to inquiry.
129. Beware the echo chamber: hearing only those with whom we agree.
130. Truth exists because Truth is the Source of all that exists
131. What does life look like if everything runs the way you think it should be run? Can everyone else, live with your “should”?

132. If we think a “perfect world” is possible, then we must ask, “What does your ‘perfect world’ look like?” and “How will you get there?”

133. If we think human knowledge will be our salvation, then we must ask, “Which human?” and “Whose knowledge?”
134. “Humanly, speaking” suggests, from our earthly vantage point, we can only know so much.

135. In sociology we call it “the human condition.” In theology we just call it “sin.”

136. Persuasion begins with attraction. Inviting others to a viewpoint is an allure, not a lure.
137. Biblical revelation explains creational revelation. Our job is to look and listen.
138. When people question my beliefs about eternal judgment, I tell them, “Take it up with Jesus. He said it first.”

139. If God exists, everything is Sacred, nothing is “secular.”

140. I do not tell others my belief is “better” than theirs; I do point out, however, that my Hebraic-Christian belief is distinctive from theirs.
141. You can’t have the sociology of Jesus without the theology of Jesus. The first depends on the second.

142. Study The Book, know The Book, memorize The Book.

143.We see best by what we hear first.

144. Everyone is biased. We all begin with assumptions

145. The importance of watching movies is the importance of being human.

146. The story we live comes from stories we read, becoming the story we tell.

147. Attack ideas, not people. [Antonin Scalia]

148. As soon as you ask a question you have biased your research.

149. Rather than saying “There’s a problem” say, “I’m going to find a solution.”

150. A person can live 40 days without food, 3 days without water, 5 minutes without air, but not one second without hope.

151. The most important “T” word is not “truth,” it is “transcendence.”

152. “Providential good fortune” is a Christian way to say, “I hope the best for you.”

153. Christianity is not for wimps.

154. The Bible is studied in this order: observation, interpretation, correlation, application.

155. Interpretation – “What did it mean for them, then?” – must precede application – “What does it mean for us, now?”

156. Equality” means everyone should have the same outcomes; “equity” means everyone should have the same opportunities.

157. All other religions say, “This is what you must do.” Christ says, “This is what has been done for you.”

158. A culture which creates its own definitions acknowledges no authority but itself.

159. If you disrespect authorities, don’t be upset when others disrespect your authority.

160. There are two rules of life: #1 There is a God. #2 You are not Him.

161. Education can be reduced to one simple rule: put the cookies on the bottom shelf.

162. Doubt is its own certainty.

163. Encouragement costs nothing.

164. My unseen job in teaching is to inspire my students

165. Vocation IS ministry

166. Lament does not seek to explain pain but gives voice to human anguish, rage and despair.

167. “All” means all and that’s all “all” means.

168. For the Christian, “good works” are possible because of the “good news.”

169. Do good, do good, do good (Titus 3:1, 8, 14)

Support MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaching at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).

Picture Credit: Josh Collingwood, SnappyGoat