Ignorance is bliss, but the truth shall set you free

Have you ever not taken a stance on something? Was it because you don’t want to upset somebody or because you didn’t have enough information? God clearly doesn’t like it when people are lukewarm (Rev 3:15-16), but God also doesn’t like it when people say something that isn’t true (too many verses to quote). So what can you do?

I suppose there are several factors that should be considered.

Is it important? This may be the most important factor. I doubt God would condemn someone for not taking a stand on whether or not pop-tarts are better than toaster strudels. On the other hand, people constantly don’t take a firm stand on God. There are regular churchgoers who don’t know what the bible has to say and therefore can’t and don’t stand up for God when his statutes are challenged. Many people are more willing to take a stand on politics than the creator of the universe… now that’s just a priorities issue.

Are you informed? If you don’t know which side to take should you take it? Honestly, I’m not completely sure. I often don’t take a stance if I don’t feel adequately informed. This reduces the frequency with which I am wrong, but it also leaves a lot of missed opportunities to help bring others (and myself) closer to the truth. That’s why I ask questions more often than make statements. This matter is worth looking into.

Continuing on the “are you informed?” question, maybe the solution is tobecome informed. This of course should be measured against the first question, “is it important”. Is it important to be able to hold your own in a debate over the best guitar between a les paul and a strat? That’s never terribly important. Is it important to have a well thought out and researched belief on whether or not Jesus is who he claims to be? It’s impossible for that to not be important to any single person. Because the outcomes of what you believe about Jesus have enormous impact on all aspects of your life.

I suppose it all boils down to a process… is it important? If yes, educate yourself. If no, then you can educate yourself if you wish, but it’s not necessary.

Whatever you believe about God, life, and everything, don’t settle for a half baked opinion. Find out the truth, ask around, read some books. If it’s impossible to ever fully understand God as a human, and what you believe about God is of critical importance, then we have no excuse to be uninformed. Ignorance is bliss, but the truth shall set you free.