'The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly" (Prov. 15:14, NIV).
"...'From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise?'" (Matt. 21:16, NIV).
It has been said that the prerequisite for learning is admitting ignorance and it is often the outcome. Some people have an irrational, inordinate desire to be right all the time as a preoccupation or obsession. You learn by finding out things you don't know! Christians who desire to know all the answers and to know things for their own sake miss the boat. We do not learn for knowledge's sake or for its own sake, but for a purpose, especially to apply it and share it. Knowledge is no end in itself and isn't meant to be for show or having an advantage over others or even to brag about.
"...'From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise?'" (Matt. 21:16, NIV).
It has been said that the prerequisite for learning is admitting ignorance and it is often the outcome. Some people have an irrational, inordinate desire to be right all the time as a preoccupation or obsession. You learn by finding out things you don't know! Christians who desire to know all the answers and to know things for their own sake miss the boat. We do not learn for knowledge's sake or for its own sake, but for a purpose, especially to apply it and share it. Knowledge is no end in itself and isn't meant to be for show or having an advantage over others or even to brag about.
Knowledge can puff up if not matched with love and action--it must be put into context and applied. We must always wonder what our motive for studying something is and whether we have more than selfish gain in mind. We must live out our knowledge because faith is knowledge in action. Knowledge can lead to pride and it takes a special kind of person to be a scholar and humble at the same time--because some people misuse knowledge as an advantage over people, like intimidating them or belittling them.
As believers, we don't have to know all the answers, because we know the Answerer! Sometimes we just have to admit we don't know the answer and that it's a good question--we will try to find out the answer and get back to them! Paul probably needed a thorn in his flesh to keep him from getting a big head, and we all may have our own "crosses to bear." It is erroneous to play the "let's compare" game and wonder why God doesn't seem to treat everyone equally--don't equate equity with fairness because God is not obliged to show equal grace to all (He blesses all in some ways, but some in all ways who are doubly blessed; however, God is good to all! according to Psalm 145:9).
Kids are born with a natural inclination to ask why and that everything has a purpose in life (known as teleological thinking, a dirty word to secularists)--this curiosity must not be squelched by a crabby parent who sounds discouraging to the child and inhibits his queries. Sometimes it seems the only way to answer a difficult challenge is to bring God into the equation! That's right! God is the answer to our problems. And the Bible may be the Answer Book. God knows everything and can answer our questions. A person is escaping reality by denying His existence or relevance to all of life and the big picture.
A scientist is a person with an insatiable thirst for knowledge applied or theoretical, just like the philosopher is a person with a love of knowledge itself, and these two disciplines were not distinguished in antiquity but the same endeavor of higher learning. We must encourage curiosity and the thirst for the truth, for believers are given a natural desire to know God and the truth, as all truth is God's truth and meets at the top, according to philosophers. Oh, to have the thirst for learning of a child and to seek the truth so as to be humble in admitting we don't' know it all or could even be wrong, for Socrates said that we must admit we could be wrong before we can learn anything--admitting our ignorance!
We have so much to learn from kids and their questions can be so profound that we wonder how they thought of them. They do indeed keep us on our toes and make us all realize we don't have all the answers and that we may have to admit this to them too. The innocence of a child's question is often humbling and we may even wonder how they thought of that, as it seems so "grown-up." Normally, when we say, "That's a good question," it can mean that it's the gist of what you're saying or that there's no good answer, but we all need to foster natural curiosity and knowing how to ask all the right questions.
In my day, people used to seek the aid of a librarian when stumped for answers and doing research; nowadays, most folks just resort to their favorite search engine and, voila, the answers are ready to be had! Thus, there's no excuse for being an internet cripple or handicapped and challenged with technology. The scholar isn't always the person with the most knowledge, but the person who knows how to do research and to whom to go for answers, for no one has a monopoly on knowledge and knows all the answers, though kids often seem like "know-it-all's." We must never lose our childlike thirst for learning and remember, as Art Linkletter did, that "kids say the darndest things!" Soli Deo Gloria!
As believers, we don't have to know all the answers, because we know the Answerer! Sometimes we just have to admit we don't know the answer and that it's a good question--we will try to find out the answer and get back to them! Paul probably needed a thorn in his flesh to keep him from getting a big head, and we all may have our own "crosses to bear." It is erroneous to play the "let's compare" game and wonder why God doesn't seem to treat everyone equally--don't equate equity with fairness because God is not obliged to show equal grace to all (He blesses all in some ways, but some in all ways who are doubly blessed; however, God is good to all! according to Psalm 145:9).
Kids are born with a natural inclination to ask why and that everything has a purpose in life (known as teleological thinking, a dirty word to secularists)--this curiosity must not be squelched by a crabby parent who sounds discouraging to the child and inhibits his queries. Sometimes it seems the only way to answer a difficult challenge is to bring God into the equation! That's right! God is the answer to our problems. And the Bible may be the Answer Book. God knows everything and can answer our questions. A person is escaping reality by denying His existence or relevance to all of life and the big picture.
A scientist is a person with an insatiable thirst for knowledge applied or theoretical, just like the philosopher is a person with a love of knowledge itself, and these two disciplines were not distinguished in antiquity but the same endeavor of higher learning. We must encourage curiosity and the thirst for the truth, for believers are given a natural desire to know God and the truth, as all truth is God's truth and meets at the top, according to philosophers. Oh, to have the thirst for learning of a child and to seek the truth so as to be humble in admitting we don't' know it all or could even be wrong, for Socrates said that we must admit we could be wrong before we can learn anything--admitting our ignorance!
We have so much to learn from kids and their questions can be so profound that we wonder how they thought of them. They do indeed keep us on our toes and make us all realize we don't have all the answers and that we may have to admit this to them too. The innocence of a child's question is often humbling and we may even wonder how they thought of that, as it seems so "grown-up." Normally, when we say, "That's a good question," it can mean that it's the gist of what you're saying or that there's no good answer, but we all need to foster natural curiosity and knowing how to ask all the right questions.
In my day, people used to seek the aid of a librarian when stumped for answers and doing research; nowadays, most folks just resort to their favorite search engine and, voila, the answers are ready to be had! Thus, there's no excuse for being an internet cripple or handicapped and challenged with technology. The scholar isn't always the person with the most knowledge, but the person who knows how to do research and to whom to go for answers, for no one has a monopoly on knowledge and knows all the answers, though kids often seem like "know-it-all's." We must never lose our childlike thirst for learning and remember, as Art Linkletter did, that "kids say the darndest things!" Soli Deo Gloria!
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