The Losing Game

17 “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also.   —  Acts 3:17 (NASB95)

Can anybody dispute the diagnosis that the main problem in the world is ignorance? Not ignorance about how to conquer the force of gravity—we have that knowledge, and we have done it. Not ignorance about how to invent gadgets. You press buttons, and everything is done for you. You sit down and enjoy yourself looking at the television while the washing is done and the cooking is done. Oh yes, we have all that knowledge. But that is not the knowledge I am talking about. I am referring to the knowledge of how to live; the knowledge of what humanity is and what it is meant to be; the knowledge of how to resist temptation; the knowledge of how to walk a straight path and to be clean and pure and wholesome; the knowledge of how to die without fear; the knowledge of what lies beyond—this is the knowledge we need. The problems of living and of life today are exactly as they have always been, in spite of all this vast knowledge that we have accumulated. All the knowledge that we have, and of which we are so proud, does not help us with the fundamental problems of the individual and of society—for society is nothing, after all, but a collection of individuals. And the state of the world today proves that the main trouble is still individual ignorance. . . . – Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Authentic Christianity.

Lloyd-Jones is correct.  People think they’re pretty smart.  Nobody wants to think they are “ignorant.”  But this is exactly Jesus’ understanding of people.  One time, Jesus grieved over his people and saw that they were like sheep without a shepherd.  On the cross, he looked out at angry, murderous crowds and asked God to forgive them because they didn’t know what they were doing.  Ignorant.  It’s not a very nice or positive evaluation.

When Paul wrote to the church at Rome, he wrote about people who suppress the truth (1:18).  Whenever truth is suppressed, the only possible result is ignorance.  Think about that in wider circles than just religion or spiritual matters.  Truth is fundamental to life.  Anything else results in a warped, messed up parody of life that maims and destroys.

Jesus said that the truth will set you free.  Truth does that, not ignorance.  And don’t fool yourself.  Truth doesn’t always fall into your lap.  You may have to work hard to obtain it.  But it’s worth everything.  Your life depends on truth.  Your eternal life depends on truth.  Don’t settle for ignorance.  It’s a losing game.