Four Keys to true knowledge is an article based on my self-improvement advice. The phrase ‘ actual knowledge’ signifies a false or counterfeit kind of knowledge, and you are just about to find out right now. There are three different kinds of knowledge: the world’s ability, the knowledge of men, and finally, the knowledge of God. Let’s look into the four keys to true knowledge below, which may transform your life from glory to glory if read, understood, and acted upon.
Key #1: The Fear of the Lord
I got this idea from Proverbs 1:7, and I am happy I found this out early enough. But what’s it all about? First, the word “fear” here in this passage doesn’t mean to be scared, afraid of, or terrified in this sense of the term; instead, it is reverential fear, the fear of respect and love for the one being feared.
Love and revering to the Lord is the beginning of humility, leading to authentic learning and true knowledge. But, look, anyone who thinks they know it all can’t be taught, and this is what happens when we think we know or can prove there is no God. Either extreme ends are pure ignorance.
Yeah, we can’t fully comprehend God. So therefore, we can’t claim we know Him better than others, and because we can’t know Him humanly, we can’t claim He doesn’t exist. So if you think there is no God, you may be right in some sense, but not purely exemplary, just because there is a lot that you don’t know yet and may not even know in this current life.
It’s encouraging and fantastic to listen to those who say they have encountered God, and this witness, for me, is mainly in the Bible. I have seen things I could only describe as supernatural interventions in my own life, but this doesn’t mean I am more important or knowledgeable than you or anyone else.
With all these arguments above, I know that the Lord is good and that I have to love and respect Him naturally, and this leads to the first step into true knowledge: humility. God teaches us more when we are humbled and ready to learn.
Key #2: Loving and Caring for Yourself
Now, this sounds very obvious because who doesn’t love and care for themself? All humans love themselves more than they love their parents, partners, siblings, friends, colleagues, and co-workers. But, in this article, in this context, loving and caring for yourself is a step toward true knowledge. This step, the second key, hangs on the first one, the fear (respect) of the Lord.
This self-love and self-care don’t mean to hate and not care about others; instead, it means the attention is on the self, (me) and (you). Therefore, we have to love and care for ourselves, eliminating destructive and even deadly thoughts, such as suicide, etc.
Sure, I may be blind or unaware of other real-life circumstances that may call for suicidal thoughts and even actions. However, life is what we are to live and leave it as it is, and I am also aware that we are not wired the same.
Related: 10 Best Self-Improvement Tips
Do you know some people may have good reasons to hate themselves? Yeah, and that may go beyond our ordinary human imagination. They may have bodies they don’t want to have. This is a natural problem since we have never been involved in our creation.
But can this mentality change the way we look? For example, if I don’t like my height, size, and look, can I change it to hate? Yeah, some have tried to have modern medical solutions to their physical appearance issues, but I don’t think I hate myself that much. Maybe I’m lucky. I love myself the way I am because I believe I was born this way for a unique reason, and I am the only one on the face of the whole world, right?
People may resemble each other, but that doesn’t make them alike in many ways, including how they think, what they like and dislike, etc. Each human being is unique from the rest of the crowd, which is for a good reason.
Since God created, or made every human differently, it’s something to celebrate. But, there are some people with natural issues with their bodies, and they don’t enjoy life at all, can they still love and care for themselves?
Think about people with no limbs, ears, or other essential parts; can they be happy with the way their bodies are? What about people who got burned or sick? Can they be satisfied with the way they are?
I don’t know the answer to these tough questions just because I don’t know. Does this truth mean I must shut up and say nothing about this topic? The answer, of course, depends on other factors. Maybe I should silence these f*ck tips altogether, but perhaps I shouldn’t.
Key #3: Loving and Caring for Other Humans
The third key, the second last key, is about loving and caring for other human beings. These humans may relate or not relate to us in any possible human way. They may or may not be our next-door neighbours, but they are human beings, no matter where they live, what they do for a living, etc.
Love is only a thought, wishful thinking, if our hearts are full of the opposite force, hate. Love is God, and God is love; that’s what it is. We can’t love God, ourselves (individuals), other humans, and other creatures in God’s way unless we have the life of God in us.
To have the life of God in us is to know God as He is. This leads to the knowledge of who we are (individuals) according to God and also leads us to know that other people are God’s creatures, just as we are.
When we know that other people are God’s creatures, just as you and I are, it won’t be hard to love and care about or for them. But really, how do we love and care for other humans? What does it mean? Does it mean we have to cook, wash their clothes, and bathe them when they need us?
Sometimes, caring is not always in action. But, it may mean we think about other humans as we think about ourselves. We may wish them well, but if possible, if given any chance, we have to truly love and care in action for those in our reach, in our world.
We mostly care for our biological relatives, family, and friends, but not for strangers, and there may be good reasons for not doing so. Yet, whenever possible, let’s care for all humans. Let’s love them deep inside our hearts because of who they are; humans.
Key #4: Loving and Caring for the Creation
Finally, this is the last of the 4 keys to true knowledge, loving and caring for the creation. You might have noticed the thread already: LOVE. Love is a powerful force in the entire universe that keeps everything connected and works with the rest of God’s creation.
Humans don’t love or care for other creatures, and there may be good reasons for not doing so. Unfortunately, some reasons may be the society we were born into.
If you may like, let’s say we are who we are because of many different factors: nature & nurture. Yeah, we were born the way we are. However, our physical appearances, likes, and dislikes are not a result of upbringing or training; instead, they may indeed be natural.
But think about the foods we eat. One man’s food is another man’s poison, right? The environment has a lot to change our outlook, worldviews, beliefs, and practices. We can’t deny that even peer pressure affects us directly or indirectly, whether we know it yet or not.
I naturally love all kinds of insects, worms, plants, birds, animals, and fish. I used to play with these little black and red ants, but they didn’t understand how much I loved and cared about them. So instead, they bite me in self-defence. They thought I would harm them because of the communication barriers between us.
I love dogs, cats, chickens, cows, goats, sheep, etc. I could play with them, and they could love me back. But, the love I am talking about must be in-built. I wish every human would think like me, but that’s impossible or logical. However, I still suggest, let’s love and care for the creation around us: animals, birds, fish, insects, worms, and even microbes.
Further Reading
- The True Knowledge of Knowledge—Bartleby
- What Is True Wisdom?—The Moorings