Hay or Stubble?

   I enjoy the pursuit of knowledge. I like to study, to learn and understand some things that seem important to me. I like to learn new things about what interests me, even though those same things may not stir anyone else at all.

   I don't believe, as I once heard a man say, that to be a Christian you have to check your mind at the door. God gave us a mind to use, and we do have a responsibility to use it. 

   So what should I do? Some Bible verses come to mind:

      1. Study to show yourself approved by God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed.

      2. The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning and the principal and choice part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; but fools despise skillful and godly Wisdom, instruction, and discipline. (Amplified Bible)

      3. If I understand all knowledge and mysteries and have not love, it does not profit me anything.

   What I get from all of the above is a sense that study and the acquisition of knowledge is good and desirable, but should be tempered with the purpose and meaning of the effort.

   So I start with Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created", and then proceed from that point. I try to ascertain why I am studying, my motives and my desires. Is there a useful reason for my study, or is it just idle curiosity, or a desire to be a winner at Trivial Pursuit?

   If I study History, which is my favorite area, I like to look at why events happened, their causes and the results. I like to try to get into the minds of the people who shaped those events and times, and try to understand their reasons, their hopes, and desires. 

   My daughter gave me a book for Christmas last year that chronicled the efforts of the Confederate States to gain recognition from England in the time of the Civil War. By looking at the efforts of the Rebel government and the tightrope the British, and other European countries had to walk in order not to antagonize either North or South, helped put those days in a different perspective. Now that was an interesting study, but we'll have to wait and see if it was useful for anything more than some good answers in a game.

   One of the purposes of my time of Bible study is not only to gain some knowledge of God, and His ways and purposes, but to listen for His application to my life. I want to be able to take the insights from a particular section of Scripture and make it real. Real in my life and helpful to others in some way. Building up a Scripture memory bank could be useful for recall, but if it does not transfer to positive action, it is no better than fodder for game playing. 

   There is a profit in study, but I need to make sure I start from the premise that the study needs to be approved by God, be useful to someone else and be couched in the reverence of God. Real study, real results.

   Now that would not be trivial at all.