Knowledge Makes a Secure Man Humble – Don Miller
Knowledge Makes a Secure Man Humble
Knowledge Makes a Secure Man Humble
by Don on January 25, 2010
Years ago, when I worked at a small publishing company outside Portland, I’d get together every couple days with a former seminary professor named Ross Tunnell. Ross had left seminary work and was doing graphic design, but was widely considered to be one of the smarter Old Testament teachers in Portland. I made a deal with Ross, saying that if I bought lunch, he’d teach me the old testament. And Ross took me up on that offer. We probably met more than fifty times over two years. It was a terrific arrangement.
Ross passed away only a few months ago and I’ve been thinking about those lunches, of all that I learned. But last night I remembered the greatest lesson Ross ever taught me. I was thinking about this lesson because while surfing around on the internet, I saw a minister somewhere speaking very arrogantly about how he had some bit of theology figured out and somebody else didn’t. I think maybe it was a moment of weakness for said minister, but nevertheless it helped me remember something Ross once said.
We were driving back from a conference in Salem and I was going off about some bit of scripture, explaining it to Ross as though he’d never come to the same revelation. I must have talked for about ten minutes, perhaps condescendingly (a way of speaking that prevents true dialogue, and also prevents anybody from disagreeing with you, at least in public) and Ross just sat there and listened. I don’t even recall what scripture I was talking about, but when I was done, and when I looked over at Ross to give an affirmation to my unparalleled intellect, he sat quiet. Finally, I asked what he thought. And Ross just stared straight ahead and said “I think knowledge puffs up.”
I was embarrassed, to say the least. There have been a thousand times since, though, that I wish Ross was standing next to me when I’ve made equally as embarrassing tirades.
Of our fifty or more meetings, that’s the lesson I remember best: Knowledge puffs up.
And I think this is the thing that ruins many a seminary student. Knowledge. It’s not that knowledge is bad, it isn’t, it’s good, very good according to Solomon. It’s just that knowledge is incredibly powerful and dangerous. It has to be handled with care, like a radioactive material. It can easily explode and kill many, pushing people away from the church (unless of course they agree with you.)
A good test for me is to come back to the fruits of the spirit. Is my knowledge producing these characteristics: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control?
If we acquire knowledge before we are emotionally healthy, that is if we are insecure, we are going to use it to boost our own ego and compare ourselves to others. The desire for knowledge will be like a need for a drug, then, pacifying a wounded spirit through comparative associations. Entire theological camps have been built and bolstered by this needy, angry, gluttonous desire for knowledge. But if we have confidence, if we are secure, knowledge humbles us. We realize that we did not invent truth, we simply stumbled upon it like food on a long journey. Knowledge will then produce the fruits of the spirit.
Seeking knowledge, then, is like tending a vineyard. It’s just farming. But you aren’t the one who produced the fruit, God is. You’re just a farmer, just a guy who makes and distributes wine. It’s blue-collar work.
Ross was one of the most humble men I’ve ever met. And he was also one of the most intelligent. Those two combinations are sadly rare. These days I’m wishing I knew what he knew, in more ways than one. Goodbye old friend. And thanks for the lesson.
WHAT IF WE THREW THE BUTS OUT?
Great post by Mike Foster over at POTSC.com
WHAT IF WE THREW THE BUTS OUT?
3 Comments | January 24th, 2010 9:53:33 pmpotsc buts graphic
Posted by Mike Foster:You know what frustrates me the most? When I hear the word “BUT” in conversations about second chances.
What does the word “BUT” do:
“BUT” is about caution. “BUT” is about holding back just a little. “BUT” is our escape route. “BUT” is our Plan B.
Plain and simple: IT’S THE WATERING DOWN OF RADICAL GRACE!
Instead of passionately going for it and risking everything we place our trust in the “BUT.”
Tell me if you’ve heard or thought this before about second chances:
“But what if he cheats again?” “But what if they aren’t truly sorry?” “But what if it doesn’t work out?” “But some people say…”
All those “BUTS” have the same predictable result. No real change. No grace revolution. It’s just business as usual. And quite frankly, I’m tired of business as usual!
When I daydream I often wonder what kind of world it would be if we all pushed through our fear, prejudice, and judgment and fully surrendered to a movement of radical grace.
Are you with me? Are you ready to go for it?
The path is clear..The only way we get there is by throwing the “BUTS” out!
MLK Day – A Southern White Man’s View
Last Monday, out of no where, I was asked the following question by my seven year old daughter.
“Daddy, what do we do to celebrate Martin Luther King Day?”
It seemed like an odd question at first. She continued…
“We don’t exchange gifts or anything?”
“Now I understand,” I told myself. With that I was able to see the problem from her little 7 year old point of view. Basically, holidays are meant to be celebrated. Just coming off Christmas and New Years with tons of family, lots of food, gifts a plenty, and cheerful attitudes her alertness and expectations were heightened. I needed to carefully lower those expectations.
I’m not sure if other families, especially those with a skin color other than white “do” something, but we have never even talked about Dr. King much less done anything. It’s not because we mean any disrespect, but it’s kind of like President’s Day. We don’t intentionally talk about George Washington or Abraham Lincoln either.
Back to her question. So, I began to explain that “It isn’t one of those holidays,” when before I could speak a word she beat me to the punch with an announcement that I’ll never forget. In her sweet Kentucky drawl she said,
“I mean if it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t be gettin’ those kids.”
I was dumbfounded…speechless…disappointed…proud.
She was absolutely right.
It had never occurred to me, and I am ashamed.
In her mind this day is significant, very significant. We’ve been trying to adopt three children from Uganda for three years. We pray for them every night. And while I had completely missed any opportunity to make the connection she had not. Martin Luther King Jr.’s sacrifice was making the very attempt, no, the very thought of adopting black children a reality.
Here was my lens for the Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Holiday. The holiday was first approved by Congress in 1983. No disrespect meant, but again from the Southern White perspective in many ways MLK Day was viewed, by many, as a token holiday. It was slow to be adopted by the states and up until my sophomore year in high school it was a regular school day until January 19, 1988.
Why did that change? Well it wasn’t because a law had been passed. Instead our high school made the national news on January 20, 1987 when the school was overcome by a race riot that broke out amongst the students. We had police at school for the first time in my life and from that point forward the local school system gave us the day off on the third Monday in January in order to avoid another racially tinged outburst. Now the racial tension in my community is strange. It’s always there, but never ever talked about. It’s just accepted.
Almost every black church in my community was formed right after the Civil War. One of those churches was formed in a split within one of those black churches several years later, but it can trace its roots back to the Civil War. The United Methodist Church, in an effort to incorporate some heritage from their old building into their new one actually put a stained glass window over the opening of the sanctuary that says “M. E. Church South.” I’m not sure if anyone actually knew this, but “M. E.” is the abbreviation for Methodist Episcopal and the designation “South” indicates that there must have been a “North.” Basically “South” proclaims that the church was/is pro-slavery, and sadly if anyone were to look it up today that church is still proclaiming it with the prominent placement of that window over the main doors to the sanctuary. Some would argue that the church was pro-Confederate, but the church split between North and South, as far as the Methodist Episcopal Church was concerned, was over the issue of slavery and not state’s rights.
As a confession, in some ways I have always thought that the riot episode was an excuse to get emotional over something that none of the rioters could identify with since none of them had even been alive when Martin Luther King Jr. was alive. So, why in the world would they feel so passionate about a guy that they never really knew? In my whiteness I excused the whole thing as an opportunity for blacks to adopt an entitlement mentality claiming victimization for the lack of opportunity provided them. This entitlement thing is not a black problem. It’s a culture problem. We Americans feel entitled to low prices, easy money, big houses and fancy cars. So, when we get any opportunity we play the role of victim when those entitlements aren’t granted to us.
Now, after a child’s comment, God has redeemed that line of thinking. I see things a little differently. It never occurred to me that if it were not for the Civil Rights Movement our adoption of African children would not be possible. While I’m not 100% sure that the State of Kentucky would have denied us the right. I am pretty sure that the road would have been uphill at best and at worst impossible.
Sadly, for the first time I can appreciate how radically better my life is today because of Dr. King’s efforts. There are opportunities that I now have as a Southern White Man that would never have come about if not for his sacrifice.
Don’t tell my seven year old, but I think we may do something special next year.