Who Are You To Tell Me to Question Authority?!

The “question everything” approach to life is definitely popular right now, which is not a surprise given that we live in a time of crisis. Our historically trusted authorities and institutions have let us down. There is a crisis of competency in many fields; our experts are short on expertise and our elites are not very elite. No one knows who to trust. No one seems to know what’s really real. Half of the internet (or more) seems fake at this point. Everyone gets their “news” from personally curated, algorithm-driven feeds that leave us in our little compartmentalized echo chambers. It seems as if everything is up for grabs. Once settled narratives are not so settled anymore. Unquestionable truths are now being questioned. We are clearly in some kind of transitional period of history, but no one can say for sure where things will land. Many people are understandably anxious and cynical, given the churn and upheaval all around us.

While it’s true that chaos seems to swirl about us, the reality is that “question everything” is not a good strategy for life. The first to “question everything” was Satan. Many on the right and left have gotten themselves into heaps of trouble by taking the “question everything” approach. When you question everything, you no longer know what a woman is or who the real villains were in WW2. It is a deconstruction project, with precious little time or energy put into a proper reconstruction. Questioning is good, but what we need are answers.

Paul spoke of those who were “always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). These are people who question everything. They have a lot of questions – but not many answers. They are unstable and immature. They are tossed about every wind and wave. Don’t be like them.

The reality is that you cannot actually question everything. You have to stand on something, even when you ask your questions. There is only one safe and secure place to stand – God and his Word. We must presuppose reality, and reality starts with God the Creator, who made us in his image. Yes, many things should be questioned. We have been told many lies and we need to sort them out. We shouldn’t trust the usual cultural “authorities” any longer. But we should not question God and his Word. That is Satan’s game, and everyone who plays it loses.