There is a basic truth in the first seven verses of The Book of Proverbs.
The passage begins with three things for us to do: to know, to understand, and to receive. The middle of the passage prescribes that even the wise increase in learning, while those who understand obtain guidance. It ends with the first of several similar expressions in the book: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
One truth about wisdom in this world is clear, that it can always grow (hence, “receive,” “obtain guidance,” and “beginning of knowledge”). There is no “having fully obtained” in this life. The only two options are: remaining like a child, or growing.
That reminder is the easy part. The hard part is what it means for my pride and independence. One of the chief characteristics of believers is submission; we are followers, after all. Whether from Paul (“submit yourselves one to another”) or Peter (“clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another”), it is clear we can always benefit from the knowledge of others. It is pride, not fact, which tells us we have already obtained enough knowledge; and independence, not truth, which tells us we can ignore the input of others.
But that correction is not the point. The point is that the wisdom of Proverbs, and of Christianity, inherently directs us to a value beyond this world: the evidence being wisdom’s imperfection in this lifetime, the consequence being a purpose beyond the futility of a life without perfection. The fact that we daily pursue what cannot be obtained in this life is the testimony that we live for something better.
Me, ignorant? Maybe. Okay, certainly. But also growing, with others, this week.