Knowledge Puffs Up

I love to learn. There is so much to discover, so much to ponder. What I enjoy most is learning to know my Heavenly Father. There is no end to the wealth I find in progressively getting to know Him and His ways better and better.

I've come to understand that He always builds us up, and never tears us down. He never embarrasses us or chides us for not knowing or remembering. He is the essence of patience and is a gentle teacher. There is no "pass/fail" with God - He just keeps working with us until we "get it." He never tells us to study harder because "knowing" isn't about struggling to memorize, as in a list of spelling words. His "knowing" is really a "becoming." He changes the way we think, not just what we think. He teaches by changing us so that we no longer think the way we used to. His yoke truly is easy and His burden light. He yokes together with each one of us - where we go, He goes and where He goes, we go. That gives me comfort.

In contrast, I just recently experienced being on the receiving end of what I would call a "knowledge puffs up" moment. You know that moment, don't you? Someone more well-educated or well-informed than you are demonstrates their intellectual superiority over you. It's even more fun when they do it in front of an audience! Just kidding - it's no fun at all! Before you feel sorry for me, let me say that I have done the very same thing to others. It's true that strength isn't in conquering, it's in serving. I understand a little better what the Apostle Paul meant when he said, "I choose to know nothing among you except Christ crucified." Knowledge puffs up, love builds up. In I Corinthians 13, the scripture says that knowledge will someday cease. So will hope and faith. The only thing left will be love. Amen! Let it be!