Counterintuitive

Some things in life are counterintuitive.

In an early Bill Cosby comedy routine, he spoke about driving home at night in terrible winter weather—and feeling his car begin to skid.

Flashing through his brain was a lesson from Driver’s Education: “If the car begins to skid, turn in the direction of the skid.”

Cosby described how, at that moment, this Driver’s Ed advice seemed like complete nonsense…

Like if you’re about to get punched in the face, someone suggesting you should lean your face into the punch to minimize the pain.

So what did Cosby do? He turned the wheel the other way and ended up going 90 miles an hour sideways.

He should have turned in the direction of the skid.

Yes, some things in life are counterintuitive…

Like generosity.

Logic would say, if you give—you will have less and your world will be smaller.

But generosity has the opposite effect.

“The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.” (Proverbs 11.24, 25 MSG)

Amazing, isn’t it? The world of the generous gets larger and larger while the world of the stingy just gets smaller.

“Be wary of the shrewd advice that tells you how to get ahead on your own. Giving, not getting is the way… Stinginess impoverishes.” (Mark 4.24 MSG)

In our culture, the intuition of most people leans towards GIMME, GETTIN’ and personal GAIN, while the counterintuitive way is one of GENEROSITY, GRATEFULNESS, and GIVING.