What Do You Know!

“And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.  For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.”  Ecclesiastes 1:17-18

Are there things which you know that you feel you would be better off not knowing?  I can think of a few things.  Sometimes I wish I didn’t know how hateful that folks can be or about all the ungodly things going on in the world.  However, in order to be oblivious to all of that, one would have to be a hermit living all alone in a cabin in the mountains with no friends except squirrels, birds, and a good ol’ hound dog.  On second thought, there are times when that doesn’t sound so bad.  Imagine never having to think about serial killers, teachers who poison the minds of children with their “woke” attitudes, pandemics, traffic jams, road rage, income tax, or a thousand other things that people are bombarded with daily.  However, folks weren’t designed to be hermits, “No man is an island”, but rather to have relationships with each other.  Thus, if you know other people then you are bound to experience worries and problems, not that other folks are always the source of our problems.  We create enough trouble all by ourselves, but we also experience purpose and joy because of our relationships.  It is a two-way street.

There is nothing wrong with gaining knowledge.  If we didn’t learn about things, how could we support ourselves?  Education is very important for all people, and we should strive to study and learn about those subjects which can further our goals in life.  King Solomon had been offered by God anything that he desired (I Kings 3:5).  Imagine what the average person today who has based his or her life upon worldly pursuits would ask God for if given the opportunity like God gave to Solomon.  Likely 99.9 percent of them would ask for wealth or power or both.  Solomon didn’t choose either one.  He asked for an understanding heart to judge God’s people, and God gave him wisdom (I Kings 3:9-12) and the wealth for which he didn’t ask (verse 13).  Solomon is known as the wisest human that ever walked upon the earth.

Even after Solomon was given wisdom, he continued to pursue wisdom and knowledge.  He desired to know everything that he could about everything.  I know some folks who think they know everything about everything and aren’t shy about sharing their knowledge, but most people find that a turn off.  No one likes a showoff, even if he or she does possess a wealth of knowledge.  However, unless the hearer is familiar with the subject matter, he or she doesn’t know if what he or she is being told is the truth.  That can also apply to God’s word.  There are plenty of false doctrines over the airways and the internet, and without a good foundation in the Bible, those listening could be misled.  Luke wrote about some folks who eagerly heard the gospel and then searched the scriptures daily to confirm what they had heard (Acts 17:11).  Good idea.  Solomon also made an effort to know what he termed as “madness and folly”.  He was learning about the wrong things that folks do so that he wouldn’t do them.  In other words, that is like following someone’s advice that turns out badly and then saying, “Well, I know not to do that again!”  Too bad that some folks never learn to not do the same thing and expect a different outcome.

Solomon found in his search for greater wisdom and knowledge that sometimes it just wasn’t worth it.  It is like everything else:  the more we know or possess, the more we desire to know or possess.  It is a never-ending quest.  Sometimes, as the question was asked in the beginning, we find out things that we wish we didn’t know.  Folks can increase their grief and sorrow by knowing too much.  Have you ever heard the statement, “He’s too smart for his own good?”  Pursuit of knowledge for knowledge’s sake is futile.  Knowledge without the wisdom to apply that knowledge is useless.  If Solomon, the wisest man, figured this out, then we should pay attention to his words.

There is one aspect to knowledge that is vital to every person who has ever been born, and that is the knowledge that all people will be held accountable for the lives that they lived and what they did with Christ, the Lord and Savior.  This knowledge is not optional.  It is the basis for eternal life and eternal death.  There is no excuse for not knowing that God is real, that He cannot accept any form of sin in men and women, and that He will judge all people according to the gospel of Jesus Christ, the only way of forgiveness of sin and salvation (Romans 1:19-20).  They say that ignorance is bliss, but not in this case.  One important thing that Solomon learned in his pursuit of knowledge was that God’s will would be accomplished.  He wrote, “I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14).  That is knowledge certainly worth knowing.