Proverbs 15:14
We
all have the tendency to narrow the pool of information that we absorb. Let me
give you an example. I don’t like CNN. So when I watch the news, I tune in to
FoxNews instead. So, I don’t hear the viewpoint given by CNN and some of the
other news channels with a similar perspective. Fortunately for me, I avoid TV
news! Talking heads! The same stories repeated from multiple angles, multiple
times.
I
don’t read pop fiction. I haven’t read any of the Harry Potter books, so I
really don’t know too much about them. My knowledge is limited in this area. I
do know much more about trauma and how to successfully treat it. I do know
about marriage relationships and what makes them work. But magic spells are not
my strong suit.
Our
proverb states that a discerning heart seeks knowledge. We need to be on a
quest, not for dead, factual knowledge, but knowledge in the personal, practical
realm. We need to be more than Bible Quiz masters. Bare facts and figures won’t
suffice. We need to be intimately connected with the One who created the facts.
If
we are a Jesus-follower, our diet will be different than someone who is living
for themselves. We want knowledge so that we will know Him better, not know
about Him better.
The
fool only fills himself with what he knows, again and again. It is like he
knows that Chick Filet is good, so he only eats there, every day, every meal. On
Sundays he doesn’t know what to do with himself. But he learns to buy extra on
Saturday and save it for Sunday.
Fools
recycle the same old facts, never wanting to rock the boat of their belief.
They want to believe that Islam is a peaceful religion because to believe the
truth would mean that there whole world would be unsafe. They would have to
abandon the lie they have swallowed that all religious roads lead to the same
place, that there is actually a Truth-giver to whom we owe an accounting of our
lives. That would be too difficult to swallow, so they continue to recycle
their lies.
What
are feeding on? Truth or lies? Are you willing to listen to and consider other
opinions?