The story is told of a young boy who came home from school one day with a merit badge. His father beamed with pride to think that his son was so honored. He proudly asked the boy what it was he had done to earn this reward. The boy replied, “The teacher asked the class how many legs an ostrich has, and I said, ‘three.’” “But an ostrich has only two legs” the father objected. “Why were you rewarded for a wrong answer?” “The rest of the class said four, so I came closer,” was the boy’s explanation.

I fear too much of the time this is the way we think in spiritual matters. We think the Lord is pleased and will reward us as long as we are closer to the truth than those around us. In matters of truth and error, we cannot be satisfied to be merely “closer.” We must seek the whole truth (John 8:32).