Good morning friends. God is a God of second chances. Thank You, God! The sad part about it is that some people don’t realize their chance. Those we have to continue to pray for. We cannot precipitate ignorance with ignorance!
Recently the world lost a great humanitarian, and the overall greatest boxer that ever lived Muhammad Ali. I have been watching social media, television, newspaper and magazine all express their feelings, views and different things that they remembered about him. Everyone showing a sense of loss, sadness, and some with celebration of his life.
But, then you have those that use these venues to express what they feel negatively spewing racism and the like. Does this disgust me? Yes!!! But the thing that I won’t do is give this ignorance a platform. I will not allow it to take away any of the space in my mind that I have given to a man, a legacy, a great person I feel overall to ignorance. To me and this is just my opinion without the platform that we tend to give ignorance we wouldn’t giving them the attention that they are looking for. I am not in any way saying that we should not acknowledge it but there are times when it should not be allowed to enter into something that is phenomenally known to all.
Yes, there is going to always be someone that has negative things to say, but I will not allow it to effect the proudness that I feel and to tarnish this moment in time. Right now the ignorance shall get a pass because this is the time to honor a legend and to give him that. I said all that because it was a prelude to the fact that God has an answer for man’s ignorance. Now there is a lot of ignorance around, and I’m not talking about the ignorance of the unlearned. I’m talking primarily about the ignorance of the learned. You know it was Will Rogers who said everybody is ignorant, just on different subjects. Amen Will, Amen!!!
A tragic story once occurred of a woman and her son walking along a river bank. The woman was in her latter stage of pregnancy and held her toddler son by the hand as they journeyed. Suddenly, the little boy slipped and fell into the river! The woman in her condition could not jump into the river to save her son’s life. She cried and cried for help. After a little while, a couple of men heard her crying desperately and hurried towards her. They jumped into the river and brought out the lifeless infant, who had drowned in the river. The woman had not realized the river was only knee deep! She realized this, when the men ran into the river to rescue her son.
Thus, she could have run into the river herself, in spite of her condition. Unfortunately, it was too late. She had been unaware of the approximate depth of the muddy water. A majority of people in life are like the pregnant mother, oblivious of the journeys of life. In other words, you may save yourself when you jump into muddy waters such as ignorance, but remember you still have to be aware that they tend to become treacherous waters the deeper you get. And there is always a chance of drowning. You could have the need to be saved from the waters when you sink and the water is beginning to cover you head.
You’re probably saying what in the world is she talking about! People are managing the affairs they know little or nothing about. Such as some of the negative comments that I have read. Some from people that I know and some not. We tend to fight battles that for years we have seen is a never ending battle. But it’s like this, there are teachers who should be students, deliverance ministers who need deliverance, “great men and women of God” who should be learning how to be true followers of Christ. This is a fighter who is not familiar with his or her weapon of warfare or a soldier who does not recognize his or her enemies and where they are located.
When you know who your enemy is why satisfy him with allowing him to know that he has gotten to you. Yes, deal with him but just because you are, doesn’t mean that you have to give them the satisfaction of knowing that they got to you. I have found that when I don’t acknowledge my haters or those that put themselves in this type of position they tend to loose their power. Paul, the apostle simply stated this in his epistle to the Corinthians, that he was not an “ignorant person.” He was a spiritual man who knew his right from his left. 1 Corinthians 9:26 says, “Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.” In other words, do not waste your punches, by shadow boxing someone that you recognize as clearly ignorant. Because it is obvious that they have been this way most of their life by the comments that they make. With them that battle should be fought with spiritual precision, and keeping your spiritual eyes alert.
The main hindrance to any form of success is lack of knowledge. Many people, homes, ministries, callings, finances and so on are destroyed as a result of ignorance. This is because ignorance continues to be given a platform in too many areas of our life. It is said that the mountain of problems people have is in their mountain of ignorance. A pompous young man once sought Socrates, the great philosopher for knowledge. When he finally approached Socrates, his arrogance and pride were very apparent to Socrates. The philosopher decided to teach the man a lesson, so he took him to a pool of water deep enough for the purpose. Socrates then asked the young man, “What do you want?” And the man answered, “I want knowledge.” Socrates then pulled the man down with great strength and held him under the water for some seconds before pulling him out. He gasped for air desperately. Socrates asked him the question again, “What do you want?”, and the man answered “I want knowledge.”
The man was dipped into the water for the second time, this time a little longer, before he was pulled up. He was then asked the same question, “What do you want?” and he answered with great breathing difficulty “I want knowledge” Again, for the third time he was given the same treatment, and he was held under the water for even longer than the second time. Finally, he was asked the question again by Socrates “What do you want?” This time the man gasped and gasped for air and cried out “I want air!”
Until a man seeks knowledge as much as the air he breathes, it can be argued he is not prepared to learn. A person such as this will forever remain ignorant. It is said that the first kind of ignorance is of the unenlightened, not knowing. This is the person that simply does not have the facts that can transform his or her life. He or she remains in the dark and will perish in the pit of life. It is a great tragedy for someone to be in this world without a clue about his or her mission on earth and the means to accomplishing it. So they thrive in ignorance with the mindset that they are not-ignorant!
There is also the ignorance of acquiring inadequate facts. This person, unlike the first person has some knowledge, but the knowledge is not sufficient. Therefore, this man is worse than the first. This is because in actuality, he knows nothing. This is the category of leaders that should be led, shepherds that should be sheep and teachers that should be students. This is the notorious one eyed man that is leading the community of the blind. Matthew 15:14 says, “And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” If your facts have been insufficient to deliver you from any unpleasant situation that you have found yourself in, then you are definitely in this category.
The third condition is a lot worse than the second. The misinterpretation of information can be disastrous. In this instance, the man has the facts which might be adequate, but has the problem of application. He does not use the knowledge correctly. Ignorance can also be having the wrong expectations. When a person has the right information, but has the wrong expectations, it is just as useless as not having any knowledge at all. There is also the ignorance of acquiring inadequate facts. This person, unlike the first person has some knowledge, but the knowledge is not sufficient. When we have the facts from God’s Word but we do not understand God’s purposes, our ignorance is more than tragic; it is deadly, in my opinion. Especially if we know God’s Word.
When the bible warns us to resist Satan, we are expected to be enlightened concerning his devices. We are to be aware of the methods he adopts to lead people astray, so that we can resist him successfully. Satan erodes minds with lies. A man might never be greater than his thoughts. In fact, the Bible says as a man thinks in his heart, so he is. The battle of the mind has to be won before anyone can overcome. We have a responsibility to consistently renew our minds with the word of God in order to promote our lives. The best way to achieve this is to avoid being hooked on the things of this world, so that one will not get to reason and rationalize like the world does. You should ask yourself; do I fall into any of these categories?
“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.” Hosea 4:6
“In order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” 2 Corinthians 2:11
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2.
Live life, give people hope, share your heart, wisdom, and resources. Never place a period where God says there should be a comma.
As always peace and blessings, be safe. Remember God loves you and so do I. ©krw 6.8.16
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