The biggie that comes to mind first and foremost is: "How are you?" No matter how many times I've been asked or have asked myself there are more non-answers to this question than to any other. Most of the time the question is asked in passing. We even ask strangers this question as we pass on the sidewalk or in the grocery store. Two components come to surface when we do ask this question. The first is our desire to know something about someone else. The second is to have someone know something about us. Neither choice is a bad motive; nor is it an indicator of some deep meaning that suspicious people look for. Then there is God. When he asks me that question, he really means it from the bottom of his heart. We can keep our thoughts and feelings from others but we cannot from God. The question, when asked by Him, is really a chance for us to know and be known by God. We cannot lie to, bluff, or intimidate his question. We do that with those we ask the question of, are asked the question by and consequently interpreted by mankind around us. We lie. We bluff. We intimidate. The population we do these to the most is ourselves.
"Can I do anything for you?" This is an extremely loaded question. We want to ask the question to let people know we care and end up being unwilling or unable to do the follow through. Many times we actually mean, "I know you need something, I cannot or won't give it, but want you to think that I care anyway." This question has a companion of: "How can I help?" Both of these questions I have asked and many times didn't have the frame of mind or heart for the follow through. Putting myself out there to someone means being vulnerable, honest and, well, Christ like. But then, that's what we are supposed to be to the world around us. People have a rough time loving each other much less the one we don't know or, heaven forbid, our enemies! When people ask me this question my mind goes to, "Do you really want to know?" And, "Why do you want to know?" If people ask the question just to have knowledge and power over me, it's not Christ like and a sin. If I do this, the result is the same. I have sinned.
A third question that comes up often is: "What do you think the Bible says about ________?" You can fill in the blank. It might be anything from owning guns to homosexuality to, well, you know the question you have as well as the questions you have been asked. There have been many times I've been asked this question with the requester already knowing what I think versus how I have failed in that area myself. It's like someone asking, "What have you enjoyed about your sin the most?" Really!? Sometimes the questions don't have any chance of having a good answer. For instance: "Can God create a rock so big that he cannot lift it?" This question is obviously a way to take the attention off the rock in our head. This question is meant to distract our attention from the important question. The important question is: "Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and your Savior asking him to forgive you your sins?"
Next time you or I ask any of these questions we need to first ask if God wants us to ask or not. The next question is to ask ourselves if we really want to know, really want to help, or really need to know. The most important question is the one most NOT asked. "Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and your Savior asking him to forgive you your sins?" First ask yourself and then ask only those people you don't want to spend an eternity in hell. Next question?
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