It's a Small World

Ya know what's ironic (besides fat-free candy bars)?

We have all this global awareness at our fingertips, right?  And we assume we can (and feel required, almost) to keep tabs on little bits of everything.  Oh sure, we allow for everyone to have their little sections of Reality that goes to a deeper knowledge of "whatever" than other people, but we still feel like because we CAN "know it all," therefore we SHOULD.

But here's the irony: we can't.

No really!  Do we believe this?  Alex's new thing right now is, "Mom, I want to learn more than God."  Just as I'm having to explain to him why no one can know more than God, so this seems to be the same issue I'm seeing pop up right now.  We are anxious to know more than God.  We want the control that knowledge brings.  We want to feel proud and better than others and safe in our knowledge. 

But.  Reality sets in....as it has a great habit of doing....

We have to make choices everyday to live and learn one thing, and not another, right?  This is awesome.  This is Life.  This is ok!  We all do this, by the way.....and yet....We still have this social pressure to go deeper about everything.  We feel like we should be these "Neal Caffery's" or "Rick Harrison's" who just know everything they need to know - no matter how nuanced it is.  Come on, how many times are people mocked for their ignorance about "obvious" things?

Take, for instance, all of the political hot topics right now.  A lot of people are making fun of the ignorant - on both sides.  And, oh, how we laugh at 'those stupid people.'  "How could they not know Sarah Palin isn't even running?  How could they not know Mit Romney isn't black?  How could they not know...." and we go on.  Yes, it's funny.  Yes, it open conversation doors, but here's my problem with it all:

I don't care what topic you pick (the price of gas, grocery's, politics, religion, how to find the best pizza shop downtown), when it's in YOUR world, it's very familiar.  And we so easily forget that other people, those who aren't in our world, may not have such familiarity with it.

We laugh at their ignorance.  "How could they not know to take the Loop to 51st Ave?"

We're embarrassed at our own ignorance, when it happens to emerge. "Oh, that's how you use the coffee pot at church?"

We try to cover it up by jokes, learning more, pretending to not care, or a host of other ways.

To me, this comes down to Grace (as always, lol).  Am I willing to offer grace to someone who asks a question that seems BEYOND OBVIOUS to me?  Am I willing to break down an answer into understandable terms, instead of just assuming they know?  Am I willing to pursue the freedom that comes when I admit my need for help?

There is NO shame in not knowing everything.  There is NO shame in having to ask for help, or in having a question.  There is NO shame when we reveal we don't know it all.  Guess what?

"No one can know more than God, honey."



.....and that's just the way it is.