Week 13, Day 2: The Arrogance of Knowledge

Today’s Reading:  1 Corinthians 10:1-11:33

Some thoughts from yesterday’s reading…

Paul began his address in chapter 8 of 1 Corinthians by telling us that “knowledge puffs up” or makes one to be arrogant.  In many ways, we pursue knowledge, and with the right attitude, that can be a very good thing.  We want to know as much as we possibly can about God and His word, and that is attained through study.  We are accumulating knowledge about God through a study of the Bible.  But, often we see people become very arrogant because they have attained a small amount of knowledge.  Let’s face it, no matter how much we cram into our finite brains, it is only a small amount of what is available!  And yet, many begin to think of themselves as being superior to others because of the amount of knowledge they have accumulated.

It is a sad thing indeed when we see Christians who become arrogant in their knowledge or intelligence.  Recently, I saw the writings of a man who  commented on how difficult it is to communicate with others because he was far more intelligent than those he tried to speak with.  Again, recently, I received an email in which the author purports to explain the deep intricacies of a difficult subject because he knows the original biblical languages.  How often are we told that we simply don’t understand the Bible because we aren’t smart enough to understand Hebrew or Greek?  This sounds very similar to the denominational concept that we cannot understand the Bible for ourselves, and must have the elite “Clergy” class relate it to us.  Only in the church, it is not always the “clergy”, but rather the “educated.”  A little knowledge can cause a lot of problems (and misunderstandings) in the interpretation of God’s word.  We need to try to learn, but let us never exude the arrogance that indicates that we have all the answers and cannot be taught!

Let me relate to you a personal (and embarrassing) example.  When I was in college, I was visiting on a farm in rural Georgia.  The man we were staying with had a couple of black Labradors.  I, being the young and brilliant man that I was (and having a Labrador at home) began to “train” one of these dogs for retrieving.  Before long, I had the dog sitting and staying.  I had the dog retrieving to hand.  I knew what I was doing!  I casually told the owner, that with a little work, this dog could be a great hunting dog.  The owner then told me that the dog was a field champion.  You see, the dog already knew everything that I had “trained” him to do.  He had been taught by one far more skillful and knowledgeable than me!  I was quite embarrassed to have made such a fool of myself!

This is how we sometimes handle the word of God too.  It is far more damaging when we are teaching His word than when we are teaching some dog to do tricks!  But, we become convinced that we are smarter than anyone else, and we are going to set them all straight.  If your experience is like mine, that doesn’t work out too well.  Unfortunately, I fear that there are many who are, in their arrogance, oblivious to the fact that they are making fools of themselves.  May that never be the case with us.  Do not let knowledge puff you up.  Whatever the case, remember James’ admonition:

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
–James 1:19-20

Let us be swift to hear what others have to say.  Who knows, we may have made a mistake when we came to a conclusion on a passage, or a topic.  If we are arrogant, we will never allow ourselves to be corrected by those who have found the truth.  We must decide whether it is more important to be right, or to have truth.  If the former, we will never accept truth.  If the latter, we will humbly make changes when others are able to show us the truth from scripture.  After all, that is the only place to find it!

Popularity: 19% [?]