Knowledge, Wisdom, and the Heart

We were invited to a party.  I was so excited to go! I thought about it, planned my food, and played how it would go in my mind for weeks. 

Then I found out who else had been invited. What originally was going to be a fun evening with friends turned into a dreaded event, simply because of one person who was going to attend. It was a man who takes every opportunity to share with others just how smart he really is, to the point that I don't like being around him because, well, I just get tired of hearing it!

I went, and I really tried to enjoy myself, because it was a great party, but the guy was relentless.  Every time we played a game, he interjected with facts and quotes. Every time one person talked, he had to rebut.

In all honesty, after only an hour I was seething with anger and was ready to leave.  I was also ready to jump in this guy's face and give him a piece of my mind, telling him just how much I don't care about what he read, or heard, or surmised based on who-knows-what.

But then it hit me.  I do that.  Oh, I may not do it on such a large scale. I may not interrupt conversations with my "knowledge". But I definitely like to get a word in more often than not.

How many times do I give unsolicited advice about parenting? Or share with other ladies the "correct" way to make cookies? How many people do I tell for no particular reason all the places I've visited and all the people I've met? 

This has me thinking, and has been a huge area of concern and study since that party.  I do believe God created us (some, more than others, maybe) to desire to learn, study, travel, etc.  So, if knowledge itself isn't wrong, then what is?  What about it is making me cringe?

It is the attitude behind it.  It's the heart, the motivation. 

Why do I seek knowledge?  Is it so I can show off when a subject comes up?  So I can move up the ladder in a social circle or at work?  Or is it because God has created me to love learning, and because I desire to seek truth?

We've been studying from 1 Corinthians in Sunday School, and I am struck by how relevant so much of what Paul says in this letter is to my conviction on this subject.

1 Corinthians 1:20b says, "Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" and verse 25 says, "...the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." I know he's not necessarily referring to knowledge, and the sharing of knowledge.  But can't anything that is gained out of a wrong motive be foolishness? 

1 Corinthians 1:27 goes on to say, "but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the strong ..." meaning that to those of us who think we are wise (i.e. sharing knowledge to make myself look good, or to appear strong) are put to shame by the ones we think look foolish.  (A good example is my very humble husband, who knows a whole lot more than he lets on but is so moldable and usable by God because of it).

And Proverbs 18:2 says, "A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own mind." How very convicting!

When is it okay to share knowledge?  There are plenty of times - if my heart is right.
1 Corinthians 1:31 "... just as it is written, 'Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.'"

It is my prayer that everything that I say and do would be pleasing to God, to edify others, and to bring others to a saving (HEART!) knowledge of Christ. 

If it's to make me look good, I pray that I think twice before it's said ... and may I treat others with grace who have not yet understood the importance of humility in this circumstance, praying that they learn to boast only in God!