Ignorance is Bliss, or Is It?

I have heard many people say, “Ignorance is bliss.”  Another saying, “What I don’t know won’t kill me,”  is something I have been told, as well.

Whenever someone says, these, or similar things to me, I am usually shocked.  I can’t imagine choosing to remain in ignorance.  For me, I teach my children to learn every day, and to always be teachable.  That is a personal goal of mine.  I never want to stop learning. I always want to be open and ready to learn from others’ experience, education, and wisdom.

This morning, as I was praying about a specific situation, I realized the whole thing could have been avoided if only education had happened.  I am not talking about an academic education, but the education of life experiences being applied.  When we learn from our mistakes, and share those lessons with others, we can stop the cycle of ignorance.

As I pondered this, I began thinking of all the people that I know that choose to remain ignorant, or pretend to be ignorant, to avoid accountability for their actions.  This led me to scripture, and what Yehovah says on the topic of ignorance.

The first passage of scripture that came to my mind was James 4:17

“If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”

I was thinking, pretending to not know something, and not act on it is choosing sin,  But,  I thought about that verse and I realized that just prior to it James talks about living in ignorance and not being responsible for our actions.

James 4:7-16

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

¹¹ Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. ¹² There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

¹³ Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” ¹⁴ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.”

So, ignorance is definitely not bliss.  In fact, as I continued to ponder this idea.  I wondered if there is a verse on this exact thing.  I found out that the phrase, “ignorance is bliss”  often is in reference to Ecclesiastes.  Here are some verses on this topic.

Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you (Isaiah 47:10)

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. (1 Corinthians 3:19)

The advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor. (Ecclesiastes 7:12)

Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge (1 Timothy 6:20)

There are actually many more.  But as I read it was clear that the “wisdom” and “knowledge” of man is what leads a person to folly, not the wisdom of God.

In fact, I said something to my husband, as he walked in the room while I was praying.  I said, I think so often we make excuses for not doing what is right, and hope that God will forgive our ignorance.  He pointed out to me the cost that King David paid for his ignorance of God’s Law.  A man died because David did not know that no Israelite should touch the Ark of the Covenant or they would die.  God’s chosen people are held to a higher standard.  This is proven throughout scripture.  Over and over, Yehovah teaches in His Word that His children who are called by His Name, are accountable for knowing and obeying His Law.

In 1 John 3,  we are clearly told that as children of God, we are indeed accountable for knowing and obeying God’s law.

This thought led me to another thought.  I am also accountable for what I teach.

Yeshua Said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” in Matthew 5.

As I continued to ponder these things, and apply them to my daily life and experience, I realize that as a parent, friend, spouse, and mentor, I have to have relationships with my eyes wide open.  I can’t pretend that my children are ok, and won’t make the same mistakes I have made, or that their friends are making.  I can’t just hope that they will read, study, and apply God’s Word.  I can’t just assume others know the hard lessons I have learned from my mistakes, and past sins.  No, I have to be informed, I have to be intentional, I have to be responsible.  I must learn from God’s Word, others, and my personal experiences, both successes and failures.  I also, must teach the lessons I have learned to others, specifically, my children.

Ignorance is NOT Bliss, and more importantly it is NOT an excuse for bad behavior.

Written by ktmom15