About three weeks ago, during one of our long runs, Jesper and I starting having a really interesting discussion about the idea of knowledge being power. For as long as I can remember, people have always said that “knowledge is power” and relative to the idea of ignorance, I would have to agree. However, I really think that knowledge is truly just half of the battle.
This may sound a bit cynical (which is very unlike me) but, in many ways, knowledge is very overrated. Basically, knowledge is useless if you’re not willing to do the follow-up and this leaves us in a society that waits (and expects) for knowledge to take care of itself. Take, for example, the basic economics of the universe…what comes in must be more than what goes out, and yet, we still perpetually overspend and find ourselves in perpetual debt. Or the basic principles of physiology…what comes in must be less than what goes out, and yet, we consistently overeat and remain consistently unhealthy. We all know these things but, more often than not, we don’t act on that knowledge. This leads me to believe that knowledge really isn’t power…action is power. No one ever changed the world by knowing what to do…they changed the world by doing what needed to be done.
Don’t get me wrong, knowledge is incredibly valuable…knowledge has created some of the most profound changes that our world has ever seen but, it’s also worth noting that the two defining words in that statement are “create” and “change”…two words that imply action. With that being said though, I think that we can all attest to the fact that it’s often much harder to bite than it is to bark. For all of our righteous intents…the family size pack of Cadbury Mini Eggs still seems awfully wonderful after a hard day’s work!!!
I’ve been reflecting on this quite a bit lately because today is Ash Wednesday…the first day of the Lenten season. For the next forty days, we are called upon to take action in our lives to acknowledge the action that was made on our behalf. Forty days is a very spiritually significant amount of time throughout the Bible used to teach discipline and sacrifice to the children of God and every year, leading up to Easter, we are asked to do so once again.
I’ll be the first to admit that I can often be very resistant to change. While I know that certain change can and would be good for me…sometimes it’s easier to deal with the devil that I know versus the devil that I don’t know (and honestly…Mini Eggs make me really happy!!!)! That was, until about three years ago. On this very day, four years ago, I quit my job, gave notice to vacate my apartment and went to opening night of “The Passion of the Christ”. Needless to say that it was a bit of an intense day and I felt terrified for days afterwards but, ultimately, this act of change proved to be one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made.
Certain things in my life really weren’t working well at that time. I knew this but, I wasn’t doing anything about it. Instead, I spent close to a year in a world of turmoil coping with a tense work environment, other people’s drama and an overall sense of discontent because I wasn’t acting on what I knew. Eventually though, regardless of how stubborn you are, God never fails to get your attention!!! On Ash Wednesday in 2004, God decided that I would no longer be “all talk” and whether I liked or not…it was time to act!!
While I don’t think that this Lenten season will be quite the emotional roller coaster ride that it has been in the past, it is certainly going to demand changes in my life. In six days I will move into our new home and adjust to a new routine. In six weeks I will travel to a new country and adjust to 26 consecutive hours of travelling and a very restless husband! And every day in between, I will demand action on my part…action that brings me closer to becoming the very best version of myself that I can be. If for no other reason than because forty days of giving up Cadbury Mini Eggs seems pale in comparison to forty days spent fasting in the desert!!
I wish you all a blessed and transformative Lenten season!
May the force be with you and may the Cadbury Bunny keep its distance ;)
This may sound a bit cynical (which is very unlike me) but, in many ways, knowledge is very overrated. Basically, knowledge is useless if you’re not willing to do the follow-up and this leaves us in a society that waits (and expects) for knowledge to take care of itself. Take, for example, the basic economics of the universe…what comes in must be more than what goes out, and yet, we still perpetually overspend and find ourselves in perpetual debt. Or the basic principles of physiology…what comes in must be less than what goes out, and yet, we consistently overeat and remain consistently unhealthy. We all know these things but, more often than not, we don’t act on that knowledge. This leads me to believe that knowledge really isn’t power…action is power. No one ever changed the world by knowing what to do…they changed the world by doing what needed to be done.
Don’t get me wrong, knowledge is incredibly valuable…knowledge has created some of the most profound changes that our world has ever seen but, it’s also worth noting that the two defining words in that statement are “create” and “change”…two words that imply action. With that being said though, I think that we can all attest to the fact that it’s often much harder to bite than it is to bark. For all of our righteous intents…the family size pack of Cadbury Mini Eggs still seems awfully wonderful after a hard day’s work!!!
I’ve been reflecting on this quite a bit lately because today is Ash Wednesday…the first day of the Lenten season. For the next forty days, we are called upon to take action in our lives to acknowledge the action that was made on our behalf. Forty days is a very spiritually significant amount of time throughout the Bible used to teach discipline and sacrifice to the children of God and every year, leading up to Easter, we are asked to do so once again.
I’ll be the first to admit that I can often be very resistant to change. While I know that certain change can and would be good for me…sometimes it’s easier to deal with the devil that I know versus the devil that I don’t know (and honestly…Mini Eggs make me really happy!!!)! That was, until about three years ago. On this very day, four years ago, I quit my job, gave notice to vacate my apartment and went to opening night of “The Passion of the Christ”. Needless to say that it was a bit of an intense day and I felt terrified for days afterwards but, ultimately, this act of change proved to be one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made.
Certain things in my life really weren’t working well at that time. I knew this but, I wasn’t doing anything about it. Instead, I spent close to a year in a world of turmoil coping with a tense work environment, other people’s drama and an overall sense of discontent because I wasn’t acting on what I knew. Eventually though, regardless of how stubborn you are, God never fails to get your attention!!! On Ash Wednesday in 2004, God decided that I would no longer be “all talk” and whether I liked or not…it was time to act!!
While I don’t think that this Lenten season will be quite the emotional roller coaster ride that it has been in the past, it is certainly going to demand changes in my life. In six days I will move into our new home and adjust to a new routine. In six weeks I will travel to a new country and adjust to 26 consecutive hours of travelling and a very restless husband! And every day in between, I will demand action on my part…action that brings me closer to becoming the very best version of myself that I can be. If for no other reason than because forty days of giving up Cadbury Mini Eggs seems pale in comparison to forty days spent fasting in the desert!!
I wish you all a blessed and transformative Lenten season!
May the force be with you and may the Cadbury Bunny keep its distance ;)
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