Osler's Razor

When I was very young, maybe in first grade, my mom took me to a science fair held at the Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church (pictured above). It was fascinating to me, and nothing caught my attention more than a box of rocks that had come from a volcano. They were black, light, and rough to the touch. I didn't play with them or anything-- just held it and marveled. They were for sale for 20 cents each, and my mom asked if I wanted one. I said no, I didn't.

That answer wasn't true at all.


we were halfway back to our house when my mom heard me crying in the back seat. I really wanted that rock.

Poor Mom! She had offered to get me a rock, but I had said no, because I thought she didn't really want to spend the money. I not only didn't ask for what I wanted, but I didn't accept it when offered... and instead of making my mom happy with my sacrifice, I left her confused and probably a little frustrated.

I still do that, sometimes, and it still doesn't work. I'm a slow learner.

My problem with "ask and you shall receive" is it is sometimes used to reverse the role of God and Man; that is, it makes us expect God to be our servant. We ask him for something, and he hops right to it! That is inconsistent with much of the rest of Christianity, and with the nature of God, however conceived, at a very basic level.

But, maybe, the better lesson is that if we want to receive, we do need to ask? It might be that the very act of stating an expectation will make us rethink it...