Knowledge: A Blessing Or Curse? Part 1

Is wisdom a blessing or a curse?

The Request:

In 1 Kings 3:5, the Lord asks Solomon what he would like the most, and God would grant it. In verse 9, Solomon humbly asks the Lord for “an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad…” The Lord pleased with this request, heartily complied. “Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart…”

The Allure:

Yet how could what God intended to be a blessing, become as Solomon describes at the end of his life, “a grief” and “increased sorrow”? Didn’t Solomon urge us earlier in Proverbs to “get wisdom, and with all thy getting, get understanding”, because it was the “principle thing”. The key to unlocking this mystery is a warning given to us only a few chapters later. “…lean not unto thy own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy path.” Proverbs 28:26 says, “He that trusteth in His own heart is a fool:” The same wisdom that God gave as a gift to Solomon to be shared with others became Solomon’s downfall.  Was this God’s fault? No, of course not! Time and time again the Bible gives us accounts of people who because of their own pride ruined and abused God’s gifts to them. Adam and Eve and the gift of completeness in God, Israel and the gift of acceptance as God’s people, and Samson and the gift of strength are only a few examples.

Solomon admits in Ecclesiastes 1:16-18, that his downfall began when, “I communed with mine own heart…” In his pride, he began to boast of his greatness and his exceeding wisdom and knowledge, and in his lust to know more he sought out not God’s wisdom but the wisdom of the world. What followed was a self-seeking, self-pleasing lifestyle of “madness and folly”. When his wisdom was no longer used to serve God it became “vanity”. He was deceived by the same lie Satan gave to Eve. “Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Instead of waiting on God to reveal good and evil to them in His time, they experienced it for themselves in a way that took away their innocence and purity.  Solomon’s desire “to know” also robbed him of a lifelong blessing, when his desire for knowledge led him into sordid and self-fulfilling activities.

The Dilemma:

So we return to our thought-provoking question, “Is the pursuit of knowledge a blessing or a curse? Is there such a thing as “too much” knowledge? Are we missing out on what we do not know? Will we be socially handicapped by what we don’t experience? The answer to those questions is found in the Source of wisdom, and the purpose for which knowledge was given. (to be continued)

James 1:4 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given unto him.