Our own little world

Some people like to do things their own way, and they get upset when people give them advice. Fools don’t want to learn from others. They only want to tell their own ideas. (Proverbs 18:1-2)

Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. (Charles Spurgeon)

The right use of knowledge - have you given that idea much thought in your lifetime? I have possessed some knowledge on occasion, never really sharing it, holding onto that knowledge because I never felt it an appropriate time to share it. We probably all have done that, but to really consider if there is a 'right use' for the knowledge we have been given is always an act of wisdom. Not all knowledge is something to be 'broadcast' or 'touted'. Sometimes it is meant to be held close to the heart, prayed over, and then released to God.

Fools take all the 'knowledge' they can get, then spread it around like it was some sort of treasure everyone had to hear. We might refer to that as gossip in some circles! Not every tidbit of knowledge is 'share-worthy'. The knowledge that comes from God himself may actually be worthy of the 'share', but there may be a timing issue that makes the 'share' appropriate. Some 'fools' find it hard to wait for appropriate timing, trudging ahead with fool-hearted abandon. The right knowledge in the wrong timing won't produce the best of results, though.

The issue with fools is that they want they own way. They might not realize it, but their own agenda drives what they are willing to learn. They may actually miss out on one very crucial aspect of learning - wisdom. When we are so intent on the knowledge WE possess, we can frequently miss the wisdom someone else may want to share. Wisdom doesn't demand its own way - it waits until there is a way prepared. Fools don't want to learn from others because they think they already know it all. 

God puts us together in a 'family' of other believers because no one can possess all of the knowledge all of the time. We need the 'learned wisdom' of other believers when our own fool-hearted ways are about to cause us great difficulty. We can either accept that we have been given 'wise counsel', putting aside what 'knowledge' we felt was so important for us to act upon, and grow up in Christ, or we can trudge ahead in our own little world. Just sayin!