There is an old saying, “curiosity killed the cat!”. We don’t know where it came from but in my remembrance it was used to encourage others to mind their own business. It was also used, as I remember, to hush up children who asked questions that the old folks did not want to explain. And we don’t really know what happened to the cat. Perhaps that cat did not die, but gained valuable information that made it’s life better. But in that regard curiosity has been given a bad name. The dictionary has an interesting definition, “The desire to know about anything”. About curious, it says, “prying, meddlesome, eager to know.” Here, we have a mixed attitude about the subject.
We begin to say we are interested in some subject or activity, but what makes us interested? We are eager to learn more or we could say, “eager to know.” When someone gives us partial or leading information to make us want to know more about a subject or a product, some folks call that the “curiosity approach”. Jesus, the master teacher, used this approach many times in his teaching, using the parables. In John 3:3 Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, came to Jesus and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” This caused Nicodemus to ask, “How can these things be?” And Jesus used this opportunity, as Nicodemus’ mind was opened by curiosity, to teach about the kingdom of heaven. Jesus used many other parables to teach those who had an open mind. It seems that everything that he taught and the miracles that he performed made folks curious to know more about him and his teaching.
But everyone who heard his teaching and even saw some of the miracles he performed did not understand the message. Mark 4:33-34 Says, “With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.” For those with an open mind, curiosity sparks interest, causing us to seek knowledge which produces belief. This can lead us on to action. As we hear news concerning the Bible, the word of God, let us be like that “cat” and have a curious mind that leads us on to knowledge of the truth concerning the kingdom of God. The results can be a reasonably happy life here and a supremely happy life with God in heaven forever.
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