Too Much Wisdom

Ecclesiastes 1:18

For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

      When I was young I wanted to learn everything there was to know.  I would take my encyclopedias and pour through them trying to read and remember all I could.  Of course, as time passed and I grew older, other things began to fill my life and learning became a burden rather than a blessing. 

     When I was young, there were no computers in homes and the TV was only good for a little bit of world news.  Now everyone has a computer and you can watch the news 24/7.  Many of us think this is a wonderful thing.  Many of us don’t.  Today, we can learn what is happening in every part of the world either on TV, the computer or the newspaper.  Knowledge and learning are all around us.  All we have to do is to watch and listen.

     When Solomon asked for wisdom, he was granted this from God.  He was the smartest man to ever live, past, present or future.  With this knowledge, as stated in the passage above, comes much sorrow.

    As Christians, it is hard to watch people being slaughtered for practically no reason.  It is hard to hear about rapes, murders and torture to so many innocent individuals.  All around us are horrors that we hear about whether we want to or not.  I don’t always think this knowledge is good.  It is a terrible burden to carry.  If we spent every waking moment praying about these things, we would say a prayer for only a small amount of the sorrows in the world.   I reserve judgment on having knowledge of all the terrible things happening in the world.  Sometimes it is overpowering. 

     Knowledge of some things is good.  We all need to know more about the Bible.  We need to take this knowledge and try to make the world a better place, as well as to improve our own lives.  Every time we spread this type of knowledge it is a good thing.

     The world today thinks that if you have a vast amount of knowledge, you don't need God.  Thus, the world ends up in a jumbled mess like the one we have now.  Our mess is not new.  History shows that it has happened over and over again.....we just have not yet learned to study the world's history and learn not to make the same mistakes of our ancestors. 

     Solomon learned this many years ago.  We need to put all these things in God’s Hands and let them go.  Only He can take care of them.  Only He can give us peace.  Only He has true wisdom.