in which i ask "whither 'why'?"

at a recent staff meeting, one of my co-workers announced the plan to order a full-color, twelve-foot long banner.  this banner would display the title of our pastor's upcoming sermon series.  my co-worker asked if it was okay to place said banner in a certain part of the church, others nodded in agreement, and he started to put away his file of papers diagraming the measurements and typography of the banner.  i tentatively raised my arm.

"yes, Christy?"

"not to be impertinent, but....why?"

silence.  "well....

...um...

...that's a good question."

while reading an article about two 'grammar vigilantes', embarking across the country, correcting typographical mistakes in business signage, i came across a word which can only be described (at least to the bibliophile) as delectable: quidnunc.  the Strib (Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune) kindly defined it as "one who is curious to know everything that passes; one who knows, or pretends to know, all that is going on."  a search on dictionary.com reveals slightly more negative connotations: a person who is eager to know the latest news and gossip; a gossip or busybody.  from the Latin, literally, "what now?"


this brings about an interesting distinction.  as a naturally inquisitive person, i tend to place a high value on asking questions.  however, although first endearing, only the most patient soul can endure a young child's endless why, maam?  maam?  why?  why?  mama?  mommy?  WHY?????!!??


thus the motive behind the question becomes of utmost importance.  a child that continues an endless chain of 'why's almost certainly gets a bit of their gusto from the attention and exasperation of the adult.  some questions are posed as a malicious entrapment (did God really say, 'you must not eat of any tree in the garden?' - Genesis 3:1).  some just honestly want to understand.


me?  i ask 'why?' because most people don't have an answer.  i ask because most do before they purpose their action.  most do because society condones it or tradition dictates it or the advertisements promise peace if you only x, y, z.  and some do because they're told to.  blind obedience to authority is easy.  making waves only means you might get swept away by the a much more powerful (and, often angry) tide.


difficult questions energize my soul.  unfortunately, answering them usually means trouble.  but i believe it is humanity's duty to act with the utmost purpose, not to be "infants...blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming" (Ephesians 4:14)  we will no longer be "tossed back and forth by the waves" if we are the ones creating them...forcing them upon the societal norms and rules that try to tell us how to live.  what is the basis of these rules?  tradition?  history?  and why are these our gods of choice?  why is it appropriate, healthy, and right to build a life upon these dictates?


whither 'why'?  for Truth's sake.