A paraphrasing of Socrates produces the common modern axiom: “‘I do not know’ is the beginning of wisdom.” In seeking to improve who we are as human beings requires looking introspectively and in doing so, one can reach the same conclusion Socrates did. The idea reflects humility, understanding that we do not have all knowledge, curiosity, a desire to obtain understanding and growth, taking what we learn and letting go of our assumptions, and assimilating a new level of understanding into our being.
When seeking God, starting at the premise of, “I do not know” is a beautiful place to be. Jesus began His ministry with “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). Coming to God emptied of preconceived notions of who He is or how He operates with us means not only having that meagerness of spirit but acknowledging it; being controlled or meek (Matthew 5:5) in how we approach God in our acknowledgements of our limitations. Saying “I do not know” acknowledges a void in our soul which is crying out to God, hungering and thirsting (Matthew 5:6) for Him. “I do not know” is the start for the journey of turning our lives to Him and the blessings only He can deliver upon.
The very concept of God is a learned one. Man’s natural curiosity can lead him to an understanding of how much he does not know and needs to learn about the creator of the universe around him: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4a).
It is only an acceptance of ignorance that man refuses knowledge, and the man who accepts such is a fool. Solomon said, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and no not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Later in Proverbs it states, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered” (28:26).
Psalm 52:7 adds, “See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!” Finally, Psalms 14:1 and 53:1 said, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God” … They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.”
The fool who doesn’t want knowledge of his creator, who buries his curiosity and natural longing for the understanding of who God is starts to only lean on his own understanding, and on the only existence he knows. His wealth, his influence, his power in this life, and finally his own desires become his god (Philippians 3:19) creating his own destruction in ignorance.
This is finally compounded with a man’s desire to rebel against God because he has become a mouthpiece of the devil. Proverbs 15:2 says, “The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.” Proverbs 18:2 adds, “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.” Finally, Ecclesiastes 10:14 declares, “A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be after him?”
The fool talks and talks, and proclaims that there is no God to his own destruction. He speaks over those who would tell him the truth. He ignores the righteous who are pleading the words of Isaiah 1:18: “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”
But the fool does not care. Amos 5:10 says, “They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him to speaks the truth.” Paul had asked, “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?” (Galatians 4:16).
The fool says he knows. The fool says that he has all the answers. The child of God knows that the answers are only with God, and in that we can find salvation. In that seeking for the true knowledge of God, we find not only the knowledge of Him, but a life filled with the fruits of the spirit, and a satisfaction unknown to those who have authored their own destruction.
Lance Byers