When we inquire, do we want right answers or do we want to be right?

When we inquire, do we want right answers or do we want to be right?

Inquiry, in its purest form, is about the pursuit of insight. Maybe we have an initial answer, and upon asking and having a dialogue, the answer is confirmed right. Maybe the correct answer is different from our initial thought. Either way, the inquirer becomes wiser after inquiring.

But if we inquire to pursue justification of our biases, is that really inquiry, or is it more about massaging our ego? When this happens, the inquirer does not necessarily become wiser after inquiry; they merely inflate their (false) sense of self.

What is great about this version of the parable of the good Samaritan is that through simple analogies and inquiry, Jesus allows His audience to realize the ego trap he has fallen into. Maybe this is the gold standard of what teaching really is: not merely to proselytize and chastise, but rather, inquire and scaffold insight.

Luke 10 25-37. The good Samaritan

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 276: OCTOBER 3, 2022]