My people perish from a lack of knowledge. — Hosea 4:6 (KJV)
The principles I’m sharing have worked for me over the past 27 years. Sharing them with you feels like my obligation. Someone reading this column will decide to take steps to reprogram their thinking.
This article is written especially for you — you who understand the necessity of pursuing knowledge, you who want to become more professionally competent, more confident, and you who want to be more likely to succeed at whatever you’ve set your hand to do now or after retirement. You want to become a specialist.
You can learn and specialize in your field of choice, or as you continue your professional education, training or tutelage.
Some need to evaluate themselves by taking a close look at their exact stock of general knowledge before deciding to specialize. How are you operating in your day-to-day activities, an element essential for the proper functions of life? We must pay attention; we’ve got to read directions; we must read instructions, and we must get complete details before purchasing tickets and other big-ticket items. Let me give you an example; it may seem simple to you, but it is a true story.
A man purchased a cruise ticket from England to America during the early 1900s. He paid for the cruise, got onboard, but stayed in his cabin at mealtime. He thought his ticket entitled him only to travel on the ship. He thought the cost of all that exciting food wasn’t included. So he brought his own food, enough to last the whole journey from England to America. On the last day before the ship reached America, the captain asked him why he had never seen him at mealtime. The man explained his reason. The captain replied, “Sir, the ticket included every meal as well.” The man missed out because of a lack of general knowledge. This man would never have missed enjoying his meals if he had known.
Another story of someone unable to read who missed her blessing: Spurgeon tells the story of when he visited an old woman’s home. A servant in a rich man’s house who had died gave her a piece of paper. She couldn’t read, thought the design was pretty and framed it. When he visited, he looked at the framed piece of paper — it was a check. She never knew she had become a millionaire, that her grandchildren would never go hungry again. She missed out because of a lack of knowledge — too late!
These two stories may not sound like something you would do, but in changing the course of your life, your unpreparedness could be just as devastating. The word reminds us in Hosea: “My people perish from the lack of knowledge.”
True knowledge means not only learning details of the path God has put in your life, it also means you must always show love for one another. Never act as if you know so much that you feel you’re better than others. Continue to learn for the rest of your life and remain humble! Paul himself had profound knowledge of the scriptures, but he understood that intellectual knowledge on its own is meaningless. Worse, it can be a dangerous source of pride that prevents discovery of a much deeper form of knowledge: love. “Knowledge puffs up, love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1). Puffed-up knowledge also shuts out vast realms of mystery.
As you continue to live your life, keep gaining knowledge, specialized knowledge — it works.
Lyndia Grant is a speaker/writer living in the D.C. area. Her radio show, “Think on These Things,” airs Fridays at 6 p.m. on 1340 AM (WYCB), a Radio One station. To reach Grant, visit her website, www.lyndiagrant.com, email lyndiagrantshowdc@gmail.com or call 240-602-6295. Follow her on X @LyndiaGrant and on Facebook.
