Just Tell Me The Answers

“Can you help with homework?”

The former math teacher occasionally gets a call, often on a weekend. And while I love to help, I’ve discovered I’m not a very good tutor.

I was a big-picture type teacher, never believed in recipes or easy shortcuts. I wanted kids to work things out, figure it out for themselves, even if it was messy or took longer. Often a student would say “My dad showed me this way – it’s a lot faster” and I’d respond with “Great, as long as you can explain WHY it works.” I’m sure there were interesting dinner table conversations.

Folks seeking homework help want to get the assignment finished. They’re often after a quick fix…just tell me how to do it so I can get it done. I want to go back ten steps and explain what he missed that’s really causing the issue – he just wants the step-by-step that’ll solve this problem, get him past this short-term obstacle.

“Stop trying to explain it. Just tell me how to do it.”

I have this sense that life is a lot like learning math (I know that gives some of you the shakes – bear with me).

Correct answers aren’t all that useful. In fact, the answers are in the back of the book. So telling me the answer doesn’t tell me anything new.

The “problems” in the book mostly aren’t really problems. Contrived exercises are great for practice, but life doesn’t look much like the curriculum. It’s possible to get all the right answers without really understanding.

Show your work. What I don’t know, what’s unique to you, is your thinking, how you worked your way though the problem. And I can only find that out if you explain how you got what you got.

Explaining is hard. And messy. And it makes you feel vulnerable. But when we talk through it together we start to understand each other.

The questions matter more than the answers. Because the problems keep changing. Learning how to ask good questions, and getting good at showing your work, is the best way to adapt and move forward.

We learn best in groups. God created us for community. Talking it through, asking questions, sharing ideas – that’s how we grow in meaningful ways.

In life and learning math, there are two paths.

Short-term says “Stop messing with why…just show me how to get the answer.” Shortcuts, recipes, platitudes, whatever it takes to avoid the hard work of digging in and understanding.

Sadly, this is how math and life are frequently taught. Then, years later, people complain because they’re unprepared, because “they ever used that stuff,” because the shortcuts didn’t transfer into anything real.

Long-term says “Let’s work through it, from the beginning, until we understand.” No shortcuts, no skipping steps, no settling for simple answers to complex problems.

People asked Jesus for the answers. Instead, He invited them on a journey. He didn’t do that because He wanted to make things harder, but because it was the best way for them to grow.

It still is.