Several years ago someone wrote a song called,”Learning To Lean”. It had a good message about trusting God and was very popular. However, since faith comes by hearing the Word (Romans 10:17), maybe someone ought to write a song about learning to learning. Ignorance is killing us (Hosea 4:6).
Charles Swindoll wrote: “Slice it any way you wish; ignorance is not bliss. Dress it in whatever garb you please; ignorance is not attractive. Neither is it the mark of humility nor the path to spirituality. It certainly is not the companion of wisdom.
On the contrary, ignorance is the breeding ground for fear, prejudice, and superstition . . . the feeding trough for unthinking animals . . . the training field for slaves. It is blind and naked (Tennyson), the mother of impudence (Spurgeon); it brings despairing darkness (Shakespeare), never settles a question (Disraeli), nor promotes innocence (Browning). And yet it remains the favorite plea of the guilty, the excuse of the lazy, even the Christian’s rationalization for immaturity.”
Lots of folks need to read that.I’ve met a good number of people, preachers included, who boasted about not being educated. Like the old country preacher who said to the Professor of a Bible College, “The Lawd ain’t got no use for yer book learnin”. To which the wise professor replied,”Nor has He any greater use for your ignorance”. While many are too proud of their education and too critical of those who don’t have it, even more are too content being ignorant.
Contentment in our ignorance is a dangerous state. It is for this reason that Jesus often rebuked people for not knowing what they should have known. For the same reason, Paul often expressed his desire that his readers not be ignorant (Rom. 11:25, 1 Cor. 10:1; 12:1; 15:34, 1 Thess. 4:13). We would all do well to do as the Bereans did when they “searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so”(Acts 17:11). The fog of confusion that engulfs our nation today is the result of ignorance. It is unnecessary and inexcusable. We have a desperate need to learn to learn, and that starts with and stays with the Word of God.
