On Knowing // Proverbs 1:7

Today’s verse comes from early in the Proverbs, written by Solomon to help instruct people on what is correct, just, and fair. There is an unhappy reality that life isn’t fair, but that’s mainly because we want to establish ourselves as the standard and arbiter of justice. We simply cannot know everything — it’s too complex and mostly hidden. So what are we to do? Trust. Trust God with that loving respect that He is aware of far more than we ever could be. And when things are unjust and unfair, rest assured in the knowledge that God’s justice is perfect. I am struck by wisdom that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld shared about conflicts in the world. He boiled reality down to three basic buckets: the things we know, the things we know we don’t know, and things we don’t know that we don’t know. The power in wisdom isn’t just knowing things, or knowing we don’t know things, but also in recognizing there are more things that we could ever imagine that we don’t know we don’t know. You know? So, trust God; seek His instruction; and trust His justice. You will be made exceedingly wise when you find the Lord at the vertex of the things you know and the things you know you don’t know, as well as the things you don’t know you don’t know.