ONE – learning, knowing, is HELICAL (a growing process)
The big coil springs on old cars are helices. The “double helix” of our DNA is just two of those spirals intertwined.
That is how we learn about God, how we learn to relate to God, how we grow in a marriage, and even how we learn what is going on in our society and/or politics. Learn, progress, build, revisit, add.
TWO – learning, knowing, is A COMMUNITY PROJECT.
The VAST majority of what any of us knows, ALMOST EVERYTHING we base our choices and actions on, is a product of the learning – knowing work of other people. That starts with our parents, of course, but expands greatly from there.
This does not mean you don’t know anything until everyone agrees with you. Not gonna happen. But it does mean you will learn precious little, very very little, deadly little, if you refuse to learn from the good work and thinking of others.
Both of those realities mean that knowing well actually requires some good moral or ethical health. Integrity, purposefulness, openness, humility. You won’t practice either the helix principle or the community principle without some degree of those characteristics.
Without those things you can’t reliably build on what you’ve already learned (except in very limited areas), and you can’t take advantage of the VAST amount of learning and ascertaining that’s already been done. And you won’t have good sense to reject the “knowledge” that comes at all of us from unreliable sources.
Plus, you won’t get the help you need in your current learning / knowing projects.
SO … knowing with any reliability depends on doing those things.
Moving forward,
Which includes some circling back, always with integrity and alertness.
And being in touch
with those who seem themselves to possess advanced knowledge in some area(s) of concern to you, or to have unusual integrity and persistence.
Knowing well requires some good moral health - integrity, purposefulness, openness, humility. You won’t practice the helix principle or the community principle well without some degree of those characteristics.Click To TweetAnd I have a lot to learn – to keep learning – even though I am an educated and elderly “pastor-teacher”. I suspect we all do.
Those who have a track record of frequent incompetence &/or dishonesty, I do not accept as serious guides – that means
- in spiritual matters,
- relationship issues,
- technical stuff (car repair, medicine)
- and public life.
This last item sadly applies both to our current President and to his main opponent in the recent election – and to most of the TV and radio “news” media most of the time.
Those who seem to have a record of honesty and accuracy AND even a touch of humility – they are often good guides, or knowledge sources – even if they are very much “unbelievers” in my preferred forms of Christian faith. They are part of my Community of learning; they help me move around, and up, the helix.
QUESTION:
In the development of your spiritual life, your “faith”, are you practicing both of these principles – the helical progress of building freshly on what you already have, and taking advantage of good resources (especially people) in the world around you (which for many of us includes the Bible)? Your spiritual knowledge or awareness could easily be called the most important thing about you. Is it getting the attention it deserves?
AT THE END OF EXPERTISE:
In every area of life we get to where there has to be at least a small “leap of faith” – with bankers, with restaurants, with traffic signals – no shame in that! It’s literally unavoidable. In spiritual matters, or “faith” matters, are you aware of where your leap of faith is (or where your leaps of faith are)? It’s your choice. Do you feel you’re making good investments? a good risk? That matters 🙂
