For several years, I lived in a town that won an award from some magazine for being the happiest city in America. But that very same magazine also voted it the dumbest city in America based on something concerning the variety of universities and the way many individuals had college degrees. This is ridiculous because there are plenty of people who find themselves educated beyond their intelligence, and education and intelligence aren’t necessarily connected.
But that survey played into the concept ignorance is bliss. Sometimes, it’s higher just to not know and just go along blindly because more knowledge makes you miserable. King Solomon discussed this dynamic in Ecclesiastes 1:16-18: For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and the more knowledge, the more grief.
“I said to myself, ‘Look, I’m wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I actually have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.’ So, I got down to learn the whole lot from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all that is like chasing the wind. The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.” – Ecclesiastes 1:16-18
Ernest Hemingway said it this manner: Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I do know. There’s this reality that the more you understand, the more miserable it may possibly make you. And I believe what we’re living without delay is an image of that. We have access to more knowledge than anyone within the history of the world, but anxiety and depression are at an all-time high. We have easy access to anything we wish to know on the Internet. We have hundreds of organizations striving to bring awareness about all types of problems we’d like to deal with.
We have news streaming at us 24/7, nevertheless it appears to be making us more miserable than ever. It’s good to have the knowledge to learn and educate yourself. But after we get obsessed and driven to get more knowledge, it may possibly actually torment us because oftentimes, more awareness actually makes you more miserable. Of course, lack of knowledge also causes major suffering. So we face this constant tension of refusing to be ignorant and finding peace right where we’re. And I believe King David offers some insight into how you can find that balance when he says in Psalm 131,Â
“Lord, my heart will not be proud;
  my eyes are usually not haughty.
I don’t concern myself with matters too great
  or too awesome for me to understand.
Instead, I actually have calmed and quieted myself,
  like a weaned child who now not cries for its mother’s milk.
  Yes, like a weaned child is my soul inside me.
O Israel, put your hope within the Lord—
  now and at all times.”
It comes right down to our heart. If we continually seek knowledge, believing it is going to offer us something that only God may give, like safety, security, or power, we’ll just find ourselves continually anxious. But if we trust in God, like a toddler trusts its mother to look after them, we’ll find peace and contentment. There is at all times more to learn and at all times more knowledge we are able to acquire. But we have now to determine to be content without delay and trust that God provides you with the insight and guidance you wish right whenever you need it on your situation right here under the sun. And that is a reason for nice peace.
Part 1:Â What Is the Key to a Meaningful Life?
Part 2: Finding Meaning in Life’s Monotony
Part 3:Â What Are We Searching for on Social Media?
Part 4: The Surprising Power of Old Truths in Today’s Word
Part 5: How to Accept What You Can’t Change
Part 6:Â How to Find Peace in a World Obsessed with Information
Photo Credit: SWN DesignÂ
