November 2, 2010
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Knowing
Interesting philosophy class today. We talk of utopia and how to get there. A classmate said that if people would just learn/see/understand all that is wrong with now, then they would do/make the changes that needed to be done. I said most people do see it, they just don’t do anything about it because they don’t WANT it enough. Which want do they actually do? The one they want enough. So Rachel’s theory:
Just as there are levels of consciousness, there are levels of knowing. The deeper level of knowing you are, the more likely you are of actually doing something about it. (I am trying to find the connection here between knowing and doing.)
For this example, we will take a fact through the levels.
Fact: 27,000children die every day from preventable causes of poverty.
Level 1. General knowing. You hear about it.
While you might not have known this exact number, I am sure you have a general knowledge that many children die every day from starvation and other easily preventable causes. Have you done something about it lately? Have you really let it effect you for longer than that touching movie/program/article you read?
Level 2. Specific knowing. You learn about it.
You read books about poverty. You watch movies, google it on the internet. You gather facts and you talk to others about it, holding discussion that might become heated. You learn about some ministries that help people in poverty, maybe give some money. But how long does this last? Is it just a phase?
Level 3. Simple experiential knowing. You see it for yourself.
Perhaps a short term missions trip, volunteering near or far away–you may even hold a starving child in your arms. Your heart will never be the same, and you will gain a new sensitivity to this subject. But it is still something you can pick up or put down–your choice.
Level 4. Deep experiential knowing. It touches you.
It happens to someone close to you. A close friend or family member faces starvation. It isn’t something across the world, it is at your front door. You see it day in and day out. You cannot get around it.
Level 5. Ownership knowing. You feel it personally.
It happens to you. You are starving. You own that knowledge. It is a part of you and who you are.
This level 5 is what Job talks about at the end of the book of Job: “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” He knew at a new level.
What level does it take for you to really do something about what you know?
