The Knowledge of Fools

But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. (1 Corinthians 8:1b-2)

If you think you know a lot, you over-estimate yourself. Proud knowledge is the most significant proof of our ignorance.

Those from whom I have learned the most, are people who are most humble. Albert Einstein once said, “The definition of genius is taking the complex and making it simple.” The trait of a good teacher is to take a subject that is difficult for most people to understand and make it understandable to almost everyone. In my university experience, I have had professors who seemed to try and take simple things and make them complex. If you are continually speaking over people’s heads, you are not teaching them; you are endeavoring to impress them. Einstein further commented, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

The commentator Matthew Henry once wrote, “There is no proof of ignorance that is more common than proud knowledge. Those who understand their ignorance are ones who know best.” God is the source of all knowledge. When we believe that knowledge comes through our great intellect or is expressed only through our eloquent words, we are becoming a fool. Proverbs 9:18 (NLT) tells us that “Fear if the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Without God, we know nothing.

The Apostle Paul was often criticized for his lack of eloquence. He responded by saying he only sought to know Christ and him, crucified. The power of the Gospel speaks for itself.  Proud knowledge is the language of fools and only broadcasts our ignorance.

I worked for seventeen years as a missionary with Youth With A Mission. My missionary work has taken me to Mexico, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Spain, and the Ukraine.I hold a Masters of Education in curriculum and instruction from Virginia Commonwealth University. kenbarnes737@gmail.com