One day my daughter asked me, "Papa, how are you able to think outside the box? Kasi you seem to see things differently from most people." I do not know if you agree with her, but my answer shocked her. Sabi ko, "Denise, I am an engineer. I always think inside a box. Kaya lang, I think inside a different box than most people use."
People today strive to think outside the box. They often challenge the norm, looking for ways to work smarter and get rich faster. I believe this was why GMO plants have been developed and new technologies have been invented. But the promise of better yields through GMO seeds does not always happen and technology has not really simplified our lives.
I have learned that there are laws in nature that we cannot change. Thus, we should not go against them but instead, just work around them. This is true for the Bible as well. While we can challenge the laws of the Lord, at the end of the day, people will find that His ways will always prevail. When I tell people that I rest our soil on the seventh year and explain the benefits we get, most of them are shocked. Yet there was an old farmer who told me that this principle was taught in agricultural books in the 1950s. So I asked him, why was it removed? He said it was because people found a faster way to sterilize the soil, using chemicals to kill unwanted organisms. But since all organisms mutate, they have to develop stronger strains to continually address the issue. Kami, we rest our soil because no pest that attacks our crops will survive if we starve them. By doing this, our soil also improves as we encourage the growth of beneficial organisms.
I am a very 'in-the-box' thinker! But I choose to think within the box that is spelled B-I-B-L-E. When I read something that doesn't make sense, instead of challenging it, I would find ways to understand and apply it. I try my best to diligently obey God's instructions, and in return, He has kept His promises in Deuteronomy 28:1-14 (you should read it). I hope I can encourage all of you to do the same because the Bible is not a book to make us 'spiritual'; it is an operating manual to make us fruitful.
