Ignorance

"To give prudence to the naive,
To the youth knowledge and discretion."
Proverbs 1:4

I wrote yesterday about not moving the ancient boundaries.  In order to keep those boundaries in place, you must know what those boundaries are.  I just watched "180" on youtube.  Ray Comfort interviews young people about their knowledge of Adolf Hitler and the holocaust.  I was blown away by the fact that many didn't even know who Hitler was.  Others just decided to believe that the holocaust was a lie.

I like to argue that there are some things that it is okay to be naive about.  For example, I have a husband and 5 sons; it is okay for me to be naive about car repair.  Until I am alone in a strange city with a broken down car!  There are things which we can not afford to be naive about.  One of those things is history, because it is bound to repeat itself if we don't learn from it.  Another is God's word, God's love, God's judgment, God's provision through Jesus Christ, and our own sinfulness.

What things do you think that it is okay to be naive about?  I am rethinking my answers.  It wouldn't hurt me to know a little bit about car repair and could save me a big headache someday!  But I will not choose to be ignorant of God's word or His love.  Prudence begins with knowledge.  Prudence is making wise decisions and the regard to wisdom about practical matters.  If you want ot be prudent, you can't choose to be naive or ignorant.  Learn the good, the bad, and the ugly of history, science, Chrisitanity, politics, etc.  Challenge yourself to think.  Don't just gain knowledge, but put that knowledge to use in your life.  Find instruction in righteousness and truth.  Reading god's word is a good place to start.

Hint of the Day:  Don't teach just the Christian ideas to your students or they will not know how to repond to falsehood.  Notice the word "just", Christian thoughts and ideas should be foremost in their education, but remember to let them wrestle with the other ideas and religions out there. The truth can stand on its own.  I became a Christian through the study of world religions.  God will speak to their hearts.  Trust Him. 
 But remember the stages of learning and don't introduce these things too soon.  0-7 year olds learn facts by rote memory.  7-12 year olds are in the stage of instruction.  Not until after the 12th birthday do children have the logic and discerning ability to handle arguments against Christianity.  Protect them with the truth and let it sink deep into their hearts when they are young and they will be able to handle it wisely when they are older.