Knowledge is Power
But of Good or Evil?
Saturday mornings as a child, I would jump out of bed, rush to the kitchen and get a bowl of my favorite cereal (unless my brothers had already eaten all of it). I’d carefully carry my milk and cereal-filled bowl to the family room and eat while watching cartoons. I’d crunch my way through my favorite ones including, Bugs Bunny and Scooby-Doo. To this day I can remember the plots of many of these colorful animations and when channel surfing as an adult, I might even pause when I see Shaggy and Scooby.
Also embedded into my memory was a short feature I would regularly see, Schoolhouse Rock. Without even realizing it, I learned what conjunctions are and how they are used and the steps a bill takes to become a law. I smile when I think of the effortless information I gained from learning the songs and how I can still recite the Preamble of the Constitution. They also burn the motto of each segment into my mind, “Knowledge is power.”
I have pondered, through the years, the validity of the statement, knowledge is power, and have concluded it is true. Knowledge is power but is this power always a good thing? Honest reflection causes me to answer, “yes” and “no.”
There are many things each person should know and the more they add to their pool of knowledge the more successful their swim in life is.
As a classroom teacher of over three decades, I have tried to model and teach the value of learning. This is often a difficult task as kids don’t have the foresight of how knowledge will help them in the long run.
I have also seen a shift in the role of knowledge in society. In my parents’ day, they labeled individuals with a wide circle of knowledge and expertise, “Renaissance men/women.” I knew people in my parents’ and grandparents’ generation who had a base of knowledge in many areas. For example, my husband’s father knew how to build and weld things. He could construct a building from the foundation up. He knew electrical wiring and could fix most plumbing issues. Besides these skills, my father-in-law was knowledgeable about history, the Bible and how to figure mathematically how many board feet he would need to complete a project. Because he had such a broad base of knowledge, though he was never a rich man, he accomplished much and neighbors frequently called on and respected him. He also passed this knowledge on to his children.
Today, individuals’ pool of knowledge is more focused. Many attend vocational schools and colleges hoping to gain one area of expertise. It blurs the line of what is common knowledge. If we do not need the information for our specific area of interest, it loses value.
An example of this is the current debate on whether teachers should require children to learn cursive writing. Some say students should learn and perfect this skill. The children will need it for reading documents written in cursive and it helps develop eye-hand coordination. Others say it’s outdated and no longer serves a purpose. Much of what someone will read now is printed and in an age of electronic signatures, students will not need cursive. Society has shoved aside learning something, just to expand our base of knowledge. The value of knowledge has shifted but most people still agree, knowledge, though it is more compartmentalized, is a good thing. If this is an accurate statement, how can knowledge be a bad thing?
There are some things in life we’d be better off not knowing. This idea first occurred to me in my Sunday school days when studying the story of Adam and Eve.
In the book of Genesis, we read of the creation of mankind. Genesis, chapter 2 gives more details of God’s creation of man and woman. God told Adam he had specific boundaries regarding what he was to eat.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2: 16–17 NIV)
As a child, I remember thinking about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, from which God forbid Adam and Eve to eat. In my childish and undeveloped mind, I pondered how knowledge could be both good and evil. I also wondered why God would command them to stay away from it. What could be “evil” about knowledge?
For Adam and Eve, there was a colossal change in their knowledge base after they ate from this tree. Before disobeying and eating from the forbidden fruit, they only knew what was good, but now, Genesis 3 reveals that their poor choice introduced them to evil, a result of their disobedience. They now knew of blood-shed and death. Instead of transparency and honesty, shame covered them. Adam and Eve now knew what blame was and used it against each other and God.
10 (Adam) answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” (Genesis 3:10–12 NIV)ק
I have often contemplated how my life would be different if I did not know and experience shame and have concluded this knowledge has not been beneficial and even has been paralyzing much of my life. But shame is not the only detriment of knowledge; I have seen in my classroom the oppressive results of my students learning what fear, insecurity and hardship is, too early.
You certainly can argue that parents should prepare children to face the difficulties of life. I do not disagree with this, however, many parents cast children into a cesspool of evil knowledge they are not yet equipped to handle. Many parents today share all their money or marital problems with their children. I am astonished to hear a student say, “My mom told me our landlord may kick us out of our trailer because she can’t pay the rent. She talks about it all the time and I’m worried.” I hear statements like this on are a regular basis. I believe this is what the author of the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes meant when he said in chapter 1:18 (NIV), “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.”
I will never forget the day a guidance counselor told me the horror (and accurate) story of one of my female student’s early years. Though she uttered only three sentences, my entire body convulsed in the knowledge brought to my attention. For many nights after this conversation, it disturbed my dreams with the horror of what the counselor told me. Looking back on this many years later, I have often wondered if I needed to know all the woman told me. My conclusion is, no, I did not. Yes, I needed to know this student’s background so I could be sensitive and maybe even help in her healing but I am convinced I would have been better off not gaining the reprehensible knowledge. Because of situations like this, a good question would be, how do I discern which knowledge is good and which is evil?
In the evolution of my thinking about this subject, I quickly realize I do not have the insight to always know the difference between good and evil knowledge. This does not worry me, however, because James 1:5 (NIV) makes it clear help is available: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
God is waiting eagerly to help us. Hebrews 4:16 (NIV) promises His help. “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
As I think back to the motto of Schoolhouse Rock, I must add to the statement, “knowledge is power,” but be vigilant in determining whether the knowledge is good or evil.