In the 2001 blockbuster, A Beautiful Mind, Russell Crowe plays John Nash, the brilliant but mentally unstable mathematician whose work won him a Nobel Prize. The irony of a brilliant mind being handicapped by its own schizophrenic tendencies provides for an intriguing story.The New Testament records a statement in the book of Acts that reveals what God considers a "beautiful mind" to be:
These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
Acts 17:11, NKJV
This God-breathed statement describes the noble nature of the men and women in the city of Berea when it came to receiving the word of the Lord. Obviously, then, there is a right way and a wrong way to receive spiritual teaching. The Scriptures teach that searching the word of God is an attribute of a beautiful mind. How should we search the Scriptures?
S -- seriously (1 Peter 4:7)
E -- earnestly (Hebrews 2:1)
A -- anxiously (2 Timothy 2:15)
R -- regularly (Deuteronomy 6:7-9)
C -- carefully (Joshua 22:5)
H -- humbly (James 4:10)
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