17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. John 13:17 (NIV)
17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. James 4:17 (NIV)
I love quotes. Although I don't have a large cranium repository of them, the ones I do have rolling around up there get inserted into conversations and writings whenever appropriate.
In his poem, "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eaton College", Thomas Gray coined the phrase, "where ignorance is bliss". After reading today's verses, I wonder if ol' Mr. Gray had something there. Don't listen to convicting sermons on the radio. Stay away from the Bible, it might tweak your conscience. Prayer--well that is most certainly dangerous territory.
For years, the standard response at Congressional hearings has been, "I had no knowledge" of this or that. Governor Christie of New Jersey is relying heavily on the "ignorance" defense. (Only time will tell how that works out for him.)
Perhaps the "ignorance" defense might carry some weight with God, but at what cost?
Yes, prayer, meditation, listening to sermons, Bible study might reveal areas of sin in our lives, but these are also avenues for a closer, more intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father. The peace, direction, and encouragement that is readily available from Jehovah can only be found through the spiritual disciplines.
Indeed it is through those disciplines that God will reveal and convict of sin, but the deepening of the Father-child relationship will far outweigh any temporary discomfort of sin conviction.
Ignorance might be bliss, but the cost far outweighs the benefits.
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