Does God Want Us to ‘Be Brilliant?’
When you hear the word "brilliant," you may think of IQ scores and framed diplomas, Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison. But authors Timothy Willard and Jason Locy give the term a different meaning in their new book, "Home Behind the Sun: Connect with God in the Brilliance of the Everyday." In it, they claim that God wants us to "be brilliant." Here, we discuss what they mean and how this concept affects the way we should live with regard to the internet, celebrity culture, and parenting.
RNS: You argue in this book that God wants us to "be brilliant," but you aren't talking about intelligence. Describe what you mean.
TW: To “be brilliant” means to let Christ rule in our lives. For real, not just with lip service in our rhetoric, but actually applying Christian virtues in our interaction. A good application of this is in the way we use the internet. At times being brilliant may mean not saying or posting something that we really desire to. It may mean that our voice doesn’t get heard on an issue that is popular.
When news about Mark Driscoll’s dealings hit the web, people took all kinds of “stances.” But who among us actually possesses the right to speak into Mark’s life? Are we to toss criticism at other leaders in the name of “justice” or “accountability” just because we have access to a blog platform? Being brilliant means, in this case, means dying to our desires and allowing a posture of peace to rule our hearts and blogs.
RNS: Speaking of the internet, you guys make some strong comments about how Christians interact with one another online. Can you talk more about what it looks like to be brilliant in our internet engagement?