Created to Be Curious

Young brains develop so rapidly that to create meaning from their world, children ask questions almost continuously—up to 450 times a day!1 As they grow, their questions often decrease in frequency but can increase in depth and complexity. In fact, a recent study showed that curiosity is fundamental to enhancing memory via the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and ventral striatum.2 Intense curiosity stimulates brain areas associated with storing memory and reward. When a person becomes curious about a topic, the brain produces dopamine (a happy hormone). Dopamine in the hippocampus can solidify long-term memory.

In other words, curiosity enhances a person’s ability to learn and retain knowledge. It is “a physiological response that helps drive action and decision-making to support learning,” explains Harvard professor and researcher Elizabeth Bonawitz.3 It starts when we ask questions: Why? Whose? When? How? Where? Where else? How often? Does it ever? These questions might take us on an enthralling deep dive down the rabbit hole of investigation.

Christians can use these investigative tools of curiosity to strengthen our walk with Christ. Considering how curiosity facilitates learning and retention, imagine the implications for studying Scripture when we ask questions about God’s Word and seek the answers in its pages. Here are three reasons Christians should cultivate curiosity.

1. Obeying the Dominion Mandate

At the pinnacle of creation, God created Adam and Eve, gave them dominion over all the earth, and told them to fill it (Genesis 1:26–28). Filling the earth includes inventing tools, art, cities, and infrastructure—activities that meet the needs of others, improve life on earth, and bring joy.

We need curiosity to discover how to best use our God-given talents to fulfill this divine mandate.

Adam obeyed the dominion mandate when he named the animals. Cain filled the earth by building a city, and his descendants filled the earth with instruments such as the lyre and pipe and tools of bronze and iron (Genesis 4:21–22). While Scripture doesn’t describe their thought processes, it is no leap to imagine the questions they might have asked themselves: How can I produce more sounds like this one? How can I make other sounds? How can I connect this object to that one? How can I produce more force to drive these objects apart?

We need curiosity to discover how to best use our God-given talents to fulfill this divine mandate. We might ask, In what ways has God naturally gifted me? How can I use these gifts to serve God and others? What needs do I see in my city, community, and family? How can I meet those needs? How can I improve living conditions, support systems, education, and other areas in my realm of influence?

In whatever work, community, or situation God calls you to, keep asking questions and digging for answers. Humanity uses curiosity to invent, explore, and develop. We are surrounded by advancements that started when an inventor followed his or her curiosity.

We are surrounded by advancements that started when an inventor followed his or her curiosity.

Curious whether he could transmit human voices through wire, Alexander Graham Bell created the telephone. Wondering if humans could travel by air, the Wright brothers built a flying machine that could carry people.

Using curiosity to fulfill the dominion mandate is a tremendous gift and one to steward with wisdom. Doing so encourages you to see God’s world in a fresh way and contribute to human flourishing.

2. Deepening our Relationship with God

Curiosity can help believers enter a deeper relationship with their heavenly Father. All kinds of questions inspire believers to seek answers in prayer, Bible study, and biblical counsel. Ecclesiastes, Job, and many psalms are excellent examples of men of faith questioning God and finding answers in him:

• “What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 1:3). The preacher of Ecclesiastes asks hard questions throughout his book and ends with the answer God revealed to him: “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (12:13).
• “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1). Here, David’s questions move his heart toward faith, for he then pleads with God to answer him. In the final verses, he stands in faith because of God’s character: “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me” (13:5–6).

The disciples asked Jesus about signs of the end judgment, why a man was born blind, and how to pray. Asking questions paved the way for their spiritual and relational growth

Curiosity is a crucial practice for believers as they seek to know God and grow in their relationship with him. Asking hard questions about him and his Word can lead to greater faith, better understanding, and more effective teaching and witnessing as we spread the gospel to every nation (Matthew 28:19–20)

3. Strengthening our Relationship with Others

Curiosity acts as a tool for strengthening our human relationships as well. In his ministry, Jesus asked over 300 questions. In fact, he often answered questions with other questions. Being curious and asking questions of people helps us gain a deeper understanding of them and shows your care.

• What brings you the most joy?
• What prompted you into your specific career/job?
• What is a misconception about you?

Once you have a solid foundation for your relationships, you can move on to deeper questions that can edify both of you, open doors for sharing the gospel, and bear others’ burdens in Christian love. When we engage in the vulnerability of asking questions, we nourish relationship and grow in community with others.

Careful Curiosity

Curiosity can benefit believers in many ways, but when employed without discernment, it can lead to doubt and skepticism. It’s become religious vogue to question God, faith, the church, and Scripture. Asking questions is good, but believers must not find an end in the questions themselves, a practice that can lead to skepticism or agnosticism. They should always take their questions to God, Scripture, and faithful Christian leaders

To pursue truth, we must find our answers in the Bible. Rather than trade one set of beliefs for another, it’s important to base our beliefs on truth, which often means questioning our own thought processes and comparing them to God’s (Isaiah 55:8–9)

It’s easy to elevate curiosity over faith, but we must remember that we are human, after all, and must take God at his Word, the definition of faith.