Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (Matt 11:29)
By Todd Lockwood: The hardest thing for a know-it-all to say is "I don't
know" and the hardest quality for them to embrace is "humility."
Someone who has a hard time embracing these is seen by most as someone to avoid.
The only people who enjoy being around them are other know-it-alls. Together,
they love to bask in their pride by displaying their excellent greatness in an
intellectual competition.
The competition is fierce and to be knocked out of
the game is to say the most profane thing they can fathom “I don’t know.” It is
easy to see who wins the competition because the winner will always have the
biggest head. The only upside to losing the competition is that the head
shrinks enough to be able to exit the door to run away from the shame of not
knowing something. While the insecure run away to the closest book shelf to
convince themselves again that they are a know-it-all, the victor enjoys the
feeling of being omniscient. But this feeling is only short lived because the
competition will return to fight another day.
As these competitions unfold, the significance of relationships
is forgotten. It is as if people who partake in these competitions see relationships
as only having intellectual significance. They are no different than someone
who overemphasizes the body in relationships. Instead of wearing tight shirts
to show off their muscles, they like to stand in front of people and flex their
brains. And if cognitive enhancers were to become a strong market, I am sure it would be a hot commodity among
know-it-alls. But what a know-it-all really needs is a humility enhancer.
Lest I come off as a pompous spiritual giant, let me make something
clear. We are all guilty of pride on more than one occasion. But if there is a
constant swelling up of pride in your eyes that is pouring out from your heart,
you need help (Prov 21:4). It is not until you come before God broken and
contrite will you receive the help you need (James 4:10). And once you are
clothed with humility and meekness, it will be a joy for people to be around
you.
