 |
There is a temptation that we face the longer we are Christians. We may come to think that our knowledge of the faith is somehow a measure of our maturity.
I face this big time as a pastor - a professional Christian as some have called me. You might face it too. We have seminary degrees, books, endless Bible studies under our belts. We can quote verses and answer tough doctrinal questions. We read the Bible and know how things "ought" to be.
And all for what? Greater knowledge? That's good. But, we must be careful for as Paul says, "knowledge puffs up."
Knowledge can make us appear bigger than we really are to others. We can crave knowledge more than transformation. Knowledge gives us a sense of control over our world. It sets us apart. It makes us think we're right and everyone wrong. We're just "telling it like it is." We're more "mature", more "evolved", more "enlightened." We may be more concerned about being right than being loving. We're building ourselves up rather than building up others. We often think people should understand like we do, not necessarily that they should love like we do.
But we know there is something beyond knowledge. We can be right in what we know and wrong in how we live. There is knowing...then there is knowing as you ought to know.
To be sure, knowledge and love need each other. Knowledge without love can lead to tyranny. But, love without knowledge is juvenile.
Loving is our real struggle, isn't it? Knowledge is not our problem these days. We have access to greater knowledge than any generation in history. Yet, we struggle to love. The Church has access to more books and Bible studies than ever, yet we are not known as Christ said we would be by "our love for one another."
Perhaps our knowledge is puffing us up. And all this puffing up really benefits no one. Not even the person being puffed up, really. They are puffed up, inflated, full of hot air if you will, concerned often with their "rights' more than their responsibilities.
We may be right, but let's be sure we're not also wrong. We may claim our rights, but let's not forget our responsibilities. We may be well educated, well trained, able to discern God's will and explain the Bible, but let's not forget our challenge to build up others around us.
What would change in the church if we sought to grow in knowledge but never forgot our higher calling to build each other up along the way? What would happen if we were as concerned about BEING Christian as we were about learning more about Christianity?
There is knowing. Then there is knowing as you ought to know.
