Ecclesiastes 1:18

In my weekly Bible study this past Thursday evening, the subject was the book of Ecclesiastes (We're working through the Old Testament one book at a time.). This has been a favorite read of mine for as long as I've been interested in the (meta) pursuits of knowledge and wisdom... roughly 5 years (though I've always taken to simply learning).

One verse resonated with me particularly, 1:18:

For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief.

Said another way, "Ignorance is bliss"... almost. But for those concerned with really understanding the hows and whys behind the universe, ignorance is certainly nowhere close to bliss. For these sorts, knowing something - really understanding it - only shows how much you still do not know. Add to that the weight of responsibility that is understanding. It is not a light burden, for knowledge by itself is not enough; maturity demands taking knowledge, coupling action, and converting it to something else.

We spoke of faith last night and roughly defined it as "acting on one's beliefs", at least that's what I think James is getting at - and what has caused so much unnecessary consternation between Protestants and Catholics.

We also spoke of wisdom. My take is that knowledge is indeed a component of wisdom - that, like the relationship between faith and belief, wisdom is acting on one's knowledge. This is my take solely. I act on the knowledge I have acquired often, but sadly I do not at times - often even against the knowledge I have. Thus, I do not see myself as wise - working in that direction perhaps - but not comfortable with being referred to as anything approaching "wise".

You'll know I'm comfortable with that accolade when this blog converts to "Wise Nuts". ;-)