The lure of the unknown often leads us into places we wish we had never explored.
Our Intriguing Need to Know
A couple of days ago, I saw a spy movie in which someone shared classified information that was limited to a “need-to-know” basis. It got me thinking about that phrase “need-to-know.” In the military, they’ve made a science of how this term is applied. First, let’s start with the word “need.” In the military, you can’t just go up to an officer and say, “I need to know X.” He’ll correct you and say, “You may want to know, but I’m the one who will determine if you need to know.” Why is that? Because in the military, both information and need are divided into strict classifications: Top Secret, Secret, and Confidential. Sharing information with someone who has not been approved to receive it could (in many cases) cost lives (and the career of the one who shared it). Thus, those in service to our country are expected to appreciate the importance of this discipline and be very careful about whom to tell.
Looking at this from a non-military perspective, I believe there are two lessons to be learned:
- Often, what we want to know isn’t what we need to know.
- Information accuracy (knowledge) is critical to making good decisions.
I believe this example doesn’t just apply to military life. Often, our wants override our needs, and as a result, our decisions suffer. Why? Because when you don’t care about (or have time for) the facts, knowledge suffers. The accuracy of what we know matters!
Our Search for Knowledge
If you think about it, there are many parallels we can apply to our own lives. For example, when I was a kid, I loved science! My biology and chemistry teachers were, to me, like the best magicians! They did stuff in class that seemed impossible. It inspired me to unravel the mystery of how they did it. I didn’t need to know their secrets, but I wanted to know them! It was my passion! And I soon learned that to gain the knowledge required to fully duplicate what they did, I needed to dig in and study hard. Science is based on complicated stuff! If you get the formulas wrong, all you’ll get is a mess. I grew up in a time when the emphasis was on “knowing stuff,” because “knowledge was power.” With knowledge, we could get ahead, go to college, get a better job, and figure stuff out – all of which would lead to a better life. Knowledge was never a guarantee of a better life, but if we lacked knowledge, life would most certainly be harder. But knowledge came with responsibility – we had to actually use it to figure things out. If we did and then worked hard, our vision had a better chance of coming true. And, most of us strive for a vision of prospering and living better lives.
Our Passion to Satisfy Needs
Unfortunately, in today’s culture, we don’t seem to care if the knowledge we pass on is correct as long as it satisfies our needs. NEED is King. KNOWing the facts is a distant second (if it matters at all). Yet, even though we may know an endeavor is fruitless, we still pursue it because we want it to be true. Look around you. People are valued today based on the number of followers they have, not on whether they are reliable or know anything of value. Social media has turned the world upside down! All we care about these days is “following our passion” wherever it leads. Truth is only relevant when it supports what we need or want. If we can’t find the truth we want, we invent a truth that satisfies what we need – no matter how far from the real truth it strays. Somehow, we’ve managed to convince ourselves that we can change truth to match our wants. If you just stop for a minute and say the words out loud, maybe you’ll recognize how ridiculous this philosophy is – it is the belief that we can change truth just because we want to. So, if gravity is to blame for your weight problems, ignore it, and it will go away. I discovered that such things didn’t work when I was five years old! How is it that so many adults have been convinced otherwise? There was a wise person (Paul) who lived over 2,000 years ago and wrote a letter (yes, back in the days when we actually wrote letters) to a young protege. He wanted to pass on some advice to him about not allowing our desires to lead us down the wrong path. He said: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 ESV Wise words that sound (to me) like they were written yesterday.
Real Truth Never Changes
This way of living will never work with God. We are like that soldier telling his superior officer (God) what we think we need, only to have God respond, “You can’t handle that yet!” God always has our best interests at heart. He knows what we need (the truth) and when we need it (I’ve found that this intersection usually comes at the point where our need intersects with our ability to understand/handle/deal with the truth). And, the ultimate truth is – God is truth, and God never changes. Despite what we want or believe, there is a God who knows. Whether we are willing to accept this truth or not, we will never change God. All our attempts to redefine truth to satisfy our needs will ultimately fail. God is the one who invented what is true, and ignoring Him will prove to be a total waste of time. Paul wrote a few more words to Timothy in that same letter that will always ring true:
Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2: 15 NLT.
Then James adds:
14 But if you are selfish and have bitter jealousy in your hearts (an out-of-control need), do not brag. Your bragging is a lie that hides the truth. 15 That kind of “wisdom” does not come from God but from the world. It is not spiritual; it is from the devil. 16 Where jealousy and selfishness are, there will be confusion and every kind of evil. 17 But the wisdom that comes from God is first of all pure, then peaceful, gentle, and easy to please. This wisdom is always ready to help those who are troubled and to do good for others. It is always fair and honest. James 3:14-17 NCV
I like the way the Message interprets verse 17:
Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoys its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.
I don’t know about you, but as for me, I’m choosing the way that leads to “treating each other with dignity and honor.” I need more of that in my life, and the Bible provides what I need to know, and God provides it when I need it! God bless you all!
Like what you read? Don’t miss the next edition! Subscribe to my posts.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
