Did you hear about the 100-pound chicken researchers have developed? They crossed its genes with a pig. Not only is it much larger, but its eggs taste like bacon.
If you believed that little story, you are probably gullible, because I just made it up. I have sometimes heard folks described as being gullible and at other times someone described as jaded. Just so we are “on the same page” as they say, here are the meanings of the words. Gullible is defined as: “quick to believe something, possibly something that is not true.” Jaded is defined as: “made dull, apathetic, or cynical by experience.”
I got to thinking about this the other day when in good nature banter I heard someone say, “She’s gullible, she’ll believe anything you tell her.” I heard that and thought, “Wow, what a complement… though they probably don’t understand it that way.” My wife is that way too, she tends to believe anything thing someone tells her and I love that about her. Why, because I’m not as open to that way of thinking as is she, I may be a little “Jaded,” yet, being gullible is a biblical principle.
One of the passages we often hear at weddings comes from 1 Corinthians 13:7, the apostle Paul talking about what love means in our life says, “(Love) Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” A more modern translation of that verse reads this way, “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” (NLT)
Just so we can be reminded of the importance of these things, take a look at the whole context of this verse. 1 Corinthians 13:1-7:
“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” (NLT)
I don’t know about you, but I think I need to work on that principle in my life. I need to be a little more gullible. I need to not give up on people, not lose faith in people, always hope for the best and because of love, endure when circumstances don’t work out as I would like. How about you?
