The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge…How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver…An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. (Proverbs 15:14; 16:16; 18:15 ESV)
God expects His people to keep learning. In fact, they are intended to always be up on the world so that they can shape it according to God’s desires. It’s been that way since the very beginning! Look at Genesis 2:15 – Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. (NASB)
That was the point all along – that humans would rule as vice-regents, understanding & caring for God’s world. Now, I know what you’re thinking. In that Hungarian accent in your mind, you are saying, “So, what is this thing you are sayink? Zat was before zee fall of mankind. How does you know this still applies to today people?” (Yes I have Hungarian friends and they will remind me that their English far surpasses my Hungarian. And they’re correct.)
And the Hungarian voice is right to ask the question. That command to know and shape God’s world did come pre-sin. However, we know that God still expects us to understand & shape His world today because God repeats the command even after sin entered the world. In fact, He spoke it a third time after the flood restarted everything. Consider Genesis 9:1 – And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” (NASB)
Got it? The command to shape the earth continues throughout the Bible. God repeats it repeatedly. And one cannot serve as a good vice-regent, one cannot fill and subdue, unless one is continually learning about the world. But sadly, this message has become starkly counter-culture of late.
God’s plan: Humans are to learn. The polymath or Renaissance man is the ideal model.
Mainstream worldview: Humans are to study only within the bounds of political correctness. As a professor, I see committed close-mindedness on the increase.
God’s plan: Humans are to use learning as a means to take care of the earth and all inhabitants. Though unintended consequences and outright evil make this difficult, the calling is unrevoked.
Mainstream worldview: People are always the problem. The answers that will “save” the world are anti-human – preservation, not conservation; abortion, not adoption; restriction, not freedom.
God’s plan: All truth is exciting and useful for both understanding God’s world and shaping it. God’s very Word commands people to seek knowledge, debate the nature of truth, and re-examine the accepted status quo.
Mainstream worldview: Only those who hold to certain tenets are allowed a voice or place in the arena of ideas. Albert Mohler has written extensively on this, calling it the “New McCarthyism.”
Do not be defeated! Era after era has labored under some version of this mainstream view. Such nonsense inevitably implodes, brought down by the weight of its own regulation. You & I, dear brethren, will survive. We will even thrive, as will real learning – especially if we press on and seek knowledge no matter what.
God bless,
Wayne
Rev. Dr. Michael Wayne Braudrick | Senior Pastor | Frisco Bible Church | 972.335.8150 | www.friscobible.com
“The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.” I Timothy 1:5
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