One of my favorite chapters of scripture is 2 Peter 1, which contains the following:
And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
Which I have held to tightly and tried to do much of my life.
I’ll admit to being a thoughtful person, and to being academic and bookish.
However, after leaving school I’ve had consistent learning experiences emphasizing the lesson: it’s not about what you know (entirely), it’s about what you are willing to do.
For many, this may seem like a basic lesson, but I strongly desire knowledge.
And for a long time, I strongly desired knowledge for the sake of knowledge.
But that’s not what Peter is getting at (in fact he’s getting at something much, much deeper than simple acquisition of a few attributes), Peter is getting at the idea that we should add to our virtue knowledge with the intent to act on that knowledge.
So it’s not about just knowing things. It’s about doing what you know.
As I learn, grow, experience, and mature (each of which I consider separate things), I have to be willing to record, remember, and act on what I discover. I have to be willing and desirous to change and improve, based on what is revealed to me.
And I don’t mean basic change. I mean burning away dross. I mean fulling wool for impurities.
I mean change that is positive and hurts.
Constantly seek knowledge. But embrace that when you know something, doing is also required.