Tell me what you want, what you really, really, want - The Spice Girls
Did you sing it? Did you answer it? The answer is gibberish because the Spice Girls didn't know. But I think I do. Knowledge. Each person desires knowledge. Outside of love, I would say it is the top item of interest for humans. Don't believe me? Wikipedia Dictionaries Encyclopedias BOOKS TV Websites Radio We are so into knowledge that we don't even realize we are gaining it each day. Now- please note that I do not believe that all knowledge is valuable, necessary, or educational. Knowledge is just facts (or in some cases perceived facts). Even if you are an atheist and you look at the Bible as mere literature, you will see that the very first book within the Bible, in the third chapter we see knowledge. Honestly, knowledge comes in during the second chapter where it says that God placed the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil (v. 9). But the desire for knowledge comes a little later. Chapter three the serpent entices the woman (her husband was with her so don't blame women for everything). The serpent could have enticed with the tree of life, but it didn't. It enticed with knowledge. Perhaps the thinking was that if they ate of the tree of knowledge they would then be able to decide if they also would like to partake of the fruit of the tree of life. I don't know. I wasn't there. But for man and woman the idea of knowledge was tantalizing. Every person today now seeks more and more knowledge. There is knowledge of cars. There is knowledge of construction. There is knowledge of the human body and mind. Pick a topic and somebody is studying it. And there are people that are studying the good, and there are others studying the evil. Regardless, there is a constant flow of knowledge. We have gone so far as to have TV shows dedicated to the knowledge of celebrities. I for one, could not care less. I don't know their names. I don't know their shoe size. If I have any knowledge of a celebrity it is either because they did something good for the world, something bad, or something stupid. Yet others will tell you all about their favorite actors, musicians, and whomever. We see a constant thirst for knowledge. We see schools and educations being given across the globe and degrees lining the walls of doctors everywhere. But we also see it in our communities - both for good and evil. Gossip is merely the sharing of knowledge of another person or situation. It might be false knowledge, but the people sharing it do not know that at the time. Friends and family members share facts about loved ones sometimes out of concern, seeking help, or celebration, yes, Timmy is the best at everything. Either way, we are still in this suction of longing for knowledge. I, too, seek knowledge on the regular basis. I long to go back to college, yet I have no idea what I want to study! I just want to learn something in hopes of it making me better at something in some way, shape, or form. I read everyday. Even if I'm reading fiction, I'm reading to make myself a better writer - watching how different authors phrase sentences, or seeing how stories are placed solely on the backs of their characters or setting. I long to know what my kids know. I learn new items of health and fitness regularly to keep myself at the top of my game. Here's the thing that keeps coming back to me though: I spent four years in high school seeing the same mural between the band room and the cafeteria. It read, "If knowledge is power, and power corrupts, does knowledge corrupt?" I spent four years contemplating that. I spent countless more repeating it in my mind trying to answer the question. Don't get me wrong, I gave the whole, "I suppose it depends on who holds this knowledge" backwards, dodging the question answer. Then one day it clicked. Knowledge is having the facts. Wisdom is understanding the knowledge we have. When wisdom is used, the power of the knowledge will not be used for corruption. It's like the difference between sharing something about a friend for a right reason and a wrong reason. Wisdom will say, "So-and-so doesn't need to know about Jewel's big screw up. However, Ms Thang should know that Jewel isn't making great choices and could use some prayer." Knowledge says, "I know this about ....." Wisdom says, "I know how to use what I know about ...." People know about cars. That means they can use that knowledge to fix cars or steal them. One of those options is wise. No matter whether a person gains wisdom or not, knowledge is so desperately desired. We are constantly searching to know more. And it all started from a serpent and a piece of fruit.
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