How Much Knowledge Do We Really Have

When I learn something, I usually take plenty of time to understand it. But even with my understanding, how much do I really know.

“¹Then the LORD, answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: ‘²Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? ³Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’” – Job 38:1-3 (ESV)

Job was a learned man and had great knowledge. There was plenty that he did not know however, and here the LORD begins to let him know as much. You see even though we may have good knowledge of things, there are still things that we do not know that are hidden from us. In the passage that follows these three verses, God asks questions of Job to demonstrate just how much he did not know.

Just the other week my son was asking a question about something that I did not know and I thought for a moment and admitted that I was not sure of the answer and that we would have to use our resources to discover the answer. By contrast I had overheard a parent who was asked a question by their young child and the answer they gave was clearly incorrect based on what I knew, however they either thought they were correct or did not want to let on they did not know.

It is important for us to admit when we are out of the know with things. As an adult educator, I remind people all the time that even the smartest people do not know everything, but they know where the answers are found and that is what gives them knowledge.

We may not know everything, and frankly will not know everything, but, we can seek that knowledge from God and His word. It is important for us to speak with knowledge, and if there are things we do not know, it is our duty to find out so that we are speaking the truth with a more full understanding. But, we also must know that there are things that are hidden that we may not know until we are in the presence of God in heaven.

When you are out there, what things do you feel like you know that has some things hidden from you? Are you able to admit that you may not know everything? What if instead of giving a potentially misleading or incorrect response, you were to find answers and still admit there is clearly more to learn?