Of all the things there are to know, what are the most important? There’s so much out there to discover and learn. Sometimes we can think we know something, only to discover we don’t really know as much as we thought.
When I was young I think I was just naïve to a lot of the realities of life. I probably thought there really can’t be that much I need to know. The more you get into something, though, the more you realize how much you don’t know about it. I guess the value of ignorance is it allows you to not be overwhelmed by all of what you don’t yet know. If we were to fully realize all of what we have to learn at the start we might not even want to begin. I wonder if that’s how doctors must feel. They go to school for eight years, followed by several years of residency, and then they come out knowing all these things. They probably learn so much that they don’t know all that they do know, or forgot that they knew it.
I kind of felt this way when I started college. I actually began as an architecture major. I really didn’t know going in, not just the amount of learning involved, but the time commitment it would demand from you as well. If you’ve never known anyone who’s been through architecture school, you probably don’t know this. But the reality is you spend a lot of late nights in the studio working on projects, often times pulling all-nighters, just to get the projects done. It’s just a part of the process. It’s fun, but demanding. The downside is you kind of have to eat, sleep, and breathe architecture. So, if you’re not willing to do that, it’s probably not for you. I turned out to be one of those people. I didn’t finish for basically those reasons. I think I went in not realizing this. I was one of the dummies who tried to do architecture school and a part time job at the same time. I soon realized this wasn’t really feasible. Of all the people in my studio I can’t remember anyone else who had a part time job. They must have all known something I didn’t. I remember one time, due to the combination of work and school, I was in class and we were all standing around and I was falling asleep standing up. My classmates were laughing at me. They said, “Brad, why don’t you just go home and go to bed.” So, I did. Sage advice.
The reality is, this isn’t exclusive to just me and that situation. This happens to all of us at some time in our lives. We get into something and we suddenly realize it’s more involved than we thought. Maybe the worst thing isn’t when you don’t know something. I think the height of ignorance isn’t not knowing, it’s not knowing what you don’t know.
My greatest concern in life is not outright evil. I can easily identify that and say, “OK, that’s wrong.” I would say that the greatest concern we have is the appearance of good with an undercurrent of darkness.
Perceived goodness is not goodness itself and often masks an inner darkness. It’s a paper mâché version of itself. Its ineptness is such that it provides a too thinly-veiled cover, of even which, if it could, would only still be masking its true nature. Is the perception of good actually evil? If it is, maybe it’s the worst kind of evil. To be evil without knowing it is the worst kind of despair. Even the desperately wicked know the severity of their condition and can make the first steps toward change. But he whose condition is covered by a counterfeit version can’t even attempt the change, since he’s not even aware there’s a need for one.
If you fail to leave, you risk getting into a positive exercise routine is really fun and can help you get back the lust viagra soft for life you previously thought was robbed by depression. This viagra cipla 20mg http://deeprootsmag.org/2015/08/24/bob-marovichs-gospel-picks-22/ disease is actually very serious and should be treated carefully. Smoking can also wreck one’s sexual health leading to erectile issues. sildenafil shop If you don’t fasten your seat prescription for ordering viagra deeprootsmag.org belt, don’t expect your teen to. I think about the Pharisees and Scribes in the book of Matthew. In Matthew 23:26-27 Jesus speaks to their condition: “[Thou] blind Pharisee, cleanse first that [which is] within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead [men’s] bones, and of all uncleanness.” Some of the harshest words Jesus had were for the people who appeared to do right but weren’t actually right in their hearts. Now, did these people know their true condition? Certainly on some level they did. But the degree to which each person has deceived themselves, I imagine, varies from person to person. Why did this make Jesus so mad? I think he was mad that they were basically lying to themselves. He was basically saying, “Just admit the truth about your condition and then you can start to do something about it.”
If we look through the whole of scripture God’s greatest concern has been our heart condition. Psalms 51:17 says, “The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” God has always just been looking for a heart that will admit, in brokenness, their true condition. It says here that He will not despise this. Because this is when we are really being honest with ourselves and with God.
Again in James 4:8 it says, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded.” God is looking for hearts to draw near to Him. Hearts to desire to know Him and who He is. We are to have a singleness of mind and heart. Double mindedness is confusion and lacking direction. We can only truly be pleasing to God when we have pure hearts. And part of having a pure heart is having a singleness of mind to do what is right. This is when we know what we don’t know.
Matthew 23:26-27 Jesus speaks to their condition: “[Thou] blind Pharisee, cleanse first that [which is] within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead [men’s] bones, and of all uncleanness.”
Psalms 51:17 says, “The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
James 4:8 it says, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded.”