Let me begin this post by saying how much I love and appreciate knowledge. I like to study, and I like it when others do the same. I think everyone should know what they believe as specifically as possible. I'm pro-preaching and pro-teaching (well, at least good preaching and teaching), and I think it's a good idea to memorize lots and lots of Scripture. That being said, here's a thought to ponder.I was recently reading a letter written by François Fénelon (pictured above) to a guy he knew (let's just call this other guy "Derik" because apparently we have some of the same issues). He concludes the letter as follows, "Do you believe that it is possible that the love of God, and the abandonment of self for His sake, is only to be reached through acquiring so much knowledge? You have already more than you use, and need further illuminations much less than the practice of what you already know."
When I consider the struggles and failures in my own life, the problem (more often than not) wasn't that I needed someone to explain the right thing to do in a new and innovative way or even that I needed to read another book about it - it was that I understood the right thing to do and just flat out chose not to do it. It wasn't a knowledge issue but rather an issue of obedience.
In another letter, Fénelon warns, "If we are not careful, the acquisition of knowledge will so occupy this life that we will need another to reduce our acquirements into practice." For followers of Jesus, having lots of input and little or no output is very unhealthy. That's not how God designed us to function. We're designed to function in a rhythm of hearing the word of God and then putting it into practice. Often we're content to hear the word of God, tuck it away for safe keeping, hear some more, and continue the process until our minds are chalked full of information but our lives still bear no resemblance to that of Jesus.
May God give all of us the wisdom to take what's already in our heads and hearts and live it. And may we acquire further knowledge and understanding only to use it in becoming the men and women God has made us to be.
--Derik
