Ignorance is Bliss

Do you know who first made that statement? No, it wasn’t someone ignorant, it was someone who was informed.
Why? Because knowledge comes with a hidden price tag; you can’t unknow it. Knowledge burns its presence into your heart and mind with finality.
And the knowledge of God is no different. Even a cursory knowledge of Him and who He is will stick like a rock in the shoe of those determined not to believe.
That knowledge will do one of two things: it will start a fire in your soul to pursue and know Him better, or it will fill you with contempt and spite, making you wish you could go back to a time before you had seen and heard that which you now cannot deny.
If you are of the latter persuasion, I will tell you frankly, it will not go away. Your intellectual endeavors may span decades, including attending the finest schools of higher learning that our society has to offer, but it will persist.
I do, however, have some good news for you: the One that you are diligently trying to deny is still there and is still seeking you.
However, If hearing about God has stirred your soul, yet everything you learn still feels insufficient, consider this: that is by design. Once you have tasted the heavenly gift, you will never be satisfied with only the first bite, because it was meant to be the beginning of your journey with Christ, not the destination.
“That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10).
The life that we have been given and the life that we have been called to is meant to be active, not passive. We are meant to enjoy it as we grow in knowledge. But not all knowledge will satisfy you.
Knowledge acquired for the sake of power will leave you hollow (it is never enough). Knowledge acquired for the sake of fame will leave you alone (there is always someone with more). And knowledge gained for the sake of knowledge will leave you arrogant and isolated.
Fulfillment, satisfaction, and peace come only from the knowledge of God; not only knowing about Him, but knowing Him, more and more as the years go by.
But, again, it is not passive, it is acquired naturally with the passage of time; it has to be pursued.
“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge” (2 Peter 1:5).
If you are diligent, you are applying CONSTANT effort, exerting yourself as much as necessary until your task is accomplished.
You and I are NOT working for our salvation, but we are commanded to work out what has been worked into us; and not only when someone else is watching.
“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).
The Apostle Paul will not be dropping by your local church for inspection. (If he did, what would his letter say to you about what he observed?) But what does God see when he looks at us as we gather? What does He see when He looks at us when we are away from prying eyes?
Are we pursuing Him as we were when the knowledge of Him was new and exciting? Or has the fire burned low, reduced to embers that produce little light or heat? To my shame, the answer that I would honestly give you depends on my circumstances.
And to that knowledge, he tells us to build upon and not to be satisfied or stagnant with our current level of knowledge. If God tells us to “go on to perfection” (Hebrews 6:1), then my friends, we have not arrived.
“And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness” (2 Peter 1:6).
Godliness is the desire of all Christians that love the Lord and want to be like Him.
I have often made the mistake of comparing myself to other believers (usually someone that I can subconsciously look down upon just a little bit to feel better about myself). However, I seem to remember reading that this is not wise.
“For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise” (2 Corinthians 10:12).
If that offends you, being told that you are not wise, don’t get upset with me or even Paul who wrote 2 Corinthians; GOD said it.
Compare yourself to Jesus; this will keep you sufficiently humble.
But even godliness is not an end in itself. Godliness is evident by what it produces. There isn’t a halo floating above our heads, declaring to all that this is a trait that we possess. However, it can be recognized by how we treat one another.
“And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity” (2 Peter 1:7).
We cannot claim to be godly and treat the family of God poorly.
There is always, at least, that one church member at the potluck that we would rather avoid. (If you can’t think of anyone, it might be you!)
If, like me, you find that you are short on charity and brotherly kindness, then that is a lack of patience, a lack of virtue, a lack of knowledge, and even a lack of faith.
Knowledge of who He is, and who I am in Him, changes the way that I see everyone and everything. My perspective is different because my reality is different.
I did not know that 10 years ago (or even 5!) but I know it today because I know Him and His Word more fully. The Teacher has been teaching, and I kept showing up for class.
Thankfully, He is patient, unlike His students.
I don’t want the bread of idleness, I want the hidden manna!
Because that is what He promised.
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
He is worth knowing and worth pursuing, and I want to know Him more.
Don’t you?