Unintended Consequences of Collecting Knowledge

Unhealthy Curiosity

Simplicity is Holy. Simplicity is the dispensation of the Kingdom of God from the human perspective. In the journey toward unity with Christ, He does not add to your life, He subtracts. He simplifies. Books are great, sermons are great, spiritual and theological concepts, theories, and explanations are great, but they feed the minds flesh and supply the opportunity for pride to swell up. None of these things can help a person die to themself and give up every desire to Christ. I now understand why Paul, a great theologian, philosopher, and pastor said I wish to know nothing except for Christ and him crucified. Paul here forsook the opportunity to praise the merits of gaining knowledge. More knowledge complicates things. It can make one believe they are in a place that they are not or have not gotten to yet. Just because a concept can be understood that does not mean that maturity in the subject has been perfected. The Lord can use learned vocabulary and curriculum but it is best when He leads us to it in His perfect ways and timing. He is the great surgeon doing delicate work on our soul perfecting us for the wedding feast and our only role is to yield. Who - lying on the operating table would try and give advice to the surgeon during an operation? or read a book on giving surgery or watch a youtube video on it and believe they can do better or assist in some way? That would be foolishness. This isn't even an accurate comparison as His word says his ways are higher than our ways so a better comparison would be we are getting a procedure done that is brand new to the medical field and the only content we can watch online or read from books is on past surgeries and even this comparison falls short but you can see how gathering and collecting knowledge, although seemingly wise, has unintended consequences that outweigh the merits of the entire endeavor.

Seven weeks ago I turned off my iPhone and stored it in a drawer and it hasn't moved from that spot. Since Then I have been reading a lot of books and listening to a lot of sermons on you tube on my desktop computer in the living room of my house that my parents and I live in. When I had my cellphone I would always be consuming content. I am a very knowledge hungry person and The internet is always serving up a buffet of brain tingling facts and lessons and themes and general knowledge and our brain just eats it up. The brain is infinitely knowledge hungry. The flesh is infinitely pride hungry and infinitely seeks self sufficiency, self proficiency, and self preservation - both mind and flesh to their own detriment. Oh how we need a knowledge fast as a society and a right understanding of this. The presence of Christ is the great pacifier of the flesh. He is a big binky shoved into that ever loudly and passionately crocodile tear crying meat sack our souls live in called our body. Death to self is no cheerful task, especially at the outset. The body will feel like it's actually being neglected of life and react as though it is bring starved, tortured to death, and drowned all at once. It screams with all it's might and flails all around and reaches with all 5 senses and all 4 limbs to find anything to grab onto or any dry ground to stand on to keep it's head above water to breathe the air of "freedom". of self sufficiency and self preservation. I say this... Until we are completely emptied and filled with Christ, until we are completely dead and given life by Christ, freedom will be nothing more than a word to us. The only thing we need to do with our free will is use it to give itself up to Christ. He is trustworthy. More than we are. He is doing a work in us to empty us of self and draw us to him. All we need to do is yield. to let the master loving perfect surgeon undo the damage we have done and or the damage done to us by others in our life. So anyways recently I have been reading a lot of books and listening to a lot of sermons and but recently I am coming to understand that even these things can become a footstool for pride and complicate things. using my energy to gain knowledge... it's like.. why?? 

Fenelon writes of unhealthy curiosity: "Beware of philosophers. They will trap you and do more harm to you than you know how to do them good. Their discussions go on forever, yet they never come to the simple truth. Intellectuals are unwisely curious; they are like conquerors who destroy the world without possessing it." 

"Solomon himself testifies to the vanity of endless reasoning. never study spiritual concepts unless God prompts you to. do not study more than you can use. study with a prayerful spirit. God is both truth and Love. You can only know truth to the degree that you love. Love the truth and you will understand the truth. If you do not love, you do not know love. love with a humble heart and the truth will love you. You will know what philosophers do not want to know. I hope that you will obtain the knowledge that is kept for babes and the simple-minded. Such knowledge is hid from the wise and prudent. (Matthew 6:25)

Fenelon gives this advice to a pupil: 

"Your mind is too busy and you are too argumentative to maintain a quiet awareness of God. If you are always reasoning, then you cannot cultivate the silence in which God speaks. Be Humble, sincere, and simple with people. Be calm and quiet before God...      

...It has been four months since I have had any time to study. But I am glad to give up study and not cling to anything that God wants to take away. Perhaps this winter I will have time to set foot in my library. I shall enter it cautiously and listen for the slightest hint that God would have me elsewhere. The mind must fast as well as the body. I have no desire to write, speak, or be spoken about, reason, or persuade anybody. I live each day simply. I put up with any inconveniences which present themselves, but I also take time for entertainment when i need to do so." 

J.A.W.

Quotes are from the book "The Seeking Heart" by Fenelon