Things I Wish My Family Knew

Why “I Don’t Know” Might Be the Most Faithful Place to Begin

As I was thinking about knowing, I found myself reflecting on a difficult but honest realization: knowing something that isn’t true may actually hinder me from discovering what is true. False knowledge isn’t neutral — it’s an obstruction. It doesn’t just leave me ignorant; it misleads me. It fills the space that truth should occupy. So I’ve come to see that my pursuit of wisdom must include not only a search for what I don’t yet know, but also a critical humility toward what I think I know that may not be true.

John Naisbitt once said, “We are drowning in information but starving for knowledge.” His insight captured the disorienting reality of the modern age: the volume of information available to us has exploded, but clarity, discernment, and depth have not followed. I have endless access to content, data, and opinion — yet I’ve had to ask myself: am I actually becoming wiser? More loving? More grounded in truth?

But even knowledge — real, accurate, connected information — is not the summit. Knowledge is only a stage of awareness, one rung on the ladder toward something far deeper: understanding, and ultimately, wisdom.

The ancient biblical writers were deeply attuned to this layered journey:

• “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).
• “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).
• “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1).

It’s not enough for me to know facts — even biblical facts. As Jesus warned the Pharisees, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me — yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39–40). They knew the Scriptures, but they missed Christ.

That sobering truth frames the journey I’ve been exploring — from information, to knowledge, to understanding, and finally to wisdom — guided not by intellect alone, but by humility, spiritual hunger, and the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit.

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The Four Stages of Awareness

Stage	Description
Information	Raw data, isolated facts, unprocessed content.
Knowledge	Retained and connected information that begins to form meaningful truths.
Understanding	Deep grasp of meaning, relationships, and implications — the “why” behind the knowledge.
Wisdom	The Spirit-formed application of truth in life — lived out with humility and obedience.

Information

I’ve found that information is the most accessible yet shallow form of awareness. It includes statistics, headlines, theological terms, and biblical references — often consumed rapidly and forgotten just as quickly. In the digital age, information is abundant but frequently decontextualized. The danger I’ve noticed is that it’s easy to mistake volume for depth. But information, while necessary, doesn’t nourish my soul unless it is transformed into something more.

Knowledge

I’ve learned that knowledge arises when information is retained, organized, and connected. It’s more stable and more useful than raw information because it forms mental and spiritual frameworks. My biblical knowledge has included remembering God’s promises, recalling redemptive history, and understanding doctrine. But I’ve also seen how knowledge can deceive if it becomes an end in itself. As Paul warns, “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” So I’ve had to ask: is my knowledge moving me toward love, a more deeper love of God.

After all, as James soberly reminds us, “Even the demons believe—and shudder” (James 2:19). They have perfect doctrinal clarity about who Jesus is — but it produces no obedience, no love, no transformation. That kind of belief is not saving faith. It’s a warning: I can know truth without being changed by it.

I may even know Scripture — yet misuse it, misapply it, or miss Christ altogether.

Understanding

Understanding, I’ve come to see, goes beyond the correct retention of data — it grasps the meaning behind it. It perceives the heart of a truth, its relational connections, and its implications for life. For example, it’s one thing to know that Jesus died. It’s something far deeper to understand that His death fulfilled God’s justice and love and invites me into a reconciled relationship with the Father. That kind of understanding has begun to shape how I think, feel, and live.

Wisdom

Another realization I’ve come to is that this process of moving from information to wisdom doesn’t apply only to theology or spiritual practice — it transcends disciplines. There are things I’ve learned from my diverse readings as an investment manager that have unexpectedly revealed spiritual insights and theological parallels. Wisdom has a way of integrating these varied strands of learning and revealing a unified view of God’s world. It reminds me that all truth is God’s truth, and that wisdom is not confined to a single subject — it is a holistic way of seeing and engaging the world with righteousness, clarity, and love.

What motivates me most to pursue wisdom, however, is not simply the beauty of wise living or the benefit of moral clarity — it’s that wisdom draws me nearer to God. The purpose of wisdom is not to become admired or competent or even spiritually accomplished. Wisdom is the pathway by which I more clearly perceive the heart of the One who made me. I’ve come to see that wisdom isn’t a treasure I hoard on a shelf, but a Spirit-shaped way of being that enables me to walk in intimacy with an all-knowing, holy God — and to engage the world around me in righteousness, not just as a spectator but as a vessel of His truth and grace.

And that shaping often requires unlearning — letting go of things I once assumed were true but were actually standing in the way of deeper insight. Wisdom, I’ve found, is truth lived well. It takes understanding and puts it into practice — often in situations where no rulebook exists. It discerns timing, motives, and consequences. It integrates knowledge with humility, compassion, and courage. The people I see as truly wise are not merely informed; they’re transformed. They live in the fear of the Lord — and that, I’m learning, is the beginning and sustaining center of real wisdom.

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The Bridges to Wisdom

Now that I’ve seen the four stages — information, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom — I realize that the journey through them isn’t automatic. I don’t simply drift from one to the next. Each stage has required of me a step of intentional engagement — and each step has been a kind of bridge, built from both spiritual discipline and God’s grace. Here’s how I’ve come to see and walk across each one.

Bridge 1: From Information → Knowledge

Bridge Elements: Attention · Memory · Reflection

• Attention is the deliberate focus of my mind and heart on truth. In an age of distraction, attention has become a spiritual discipline. It’s not enough to casually encounter truth — I’ve had to learn to linger, to lean in, to listen deeply (Acts 17:11).
• Memory allows truth to take root. “I have hidden your word in my heart” (Psalm 119:11). I’ve learned to internalize and store Scripture where the Holy Spirit can later draw from it. Countless times in life, I have been aided by a memorized Scripture verse to guide me. The older I get, the more difficult this becomes. But difficulty isn’t an excuse to stop trying — it’s a reason to press in all the more, relying on the Holy Spirit to help me hide truth in my heart and trust in Him to bear righteous fruit.
• Reflection turns truth over in the mind until it becomes part of me. “Think over what I say,” Paul told Timothy, “for the Lord will give you understanding” (2 Timothy 2:7).

Bridge 2: From Knowledge → Understanding

Bridge Elements: Insight · Synthesis · Illumination

• Insight is when light breaks through the facts — when a verse suddenly exposes something in my heart or clarifies a situation. “The unfolding of your words gives light” (Psalm 119:130). Sometimes this comes unexpectedly, even while I’m considering something seemingly unrelated to a Bible verse — and yet, a truth or principle shines through, and I suddenly realize, “That’s what that meant.” These moments of clarity are often gentle, but they are unmistakably the Spirit’s illumination at work.
• Synthesis connects truths into a coherent whole. Paul urged Timothy to “rightly handle the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), and I’ve seen how connecting Scripture to Scripture deepens understanding.
• Illumination is the Spirit opening my eyes. Jesus “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45). This is not new revelation, but awakened perception.

Bridge 3: From Understanding → Wisdom

Bridge Elements: Obedience · Humility · Practice

• Obedience is where truth becomes real. “Be doers of the word, not hearers only” (James 1:22). Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
• Humility keeps me teachable. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Pride blocks wisdom.
• Practice makes wisdom durable. “Their powers of discernment [are] trained by constant practice” (Hebrews 5:14). Wisdom becomes a way of life — not a flash of insight, but a habit of holiness.

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Conclusion: Christ, the Way to Wisdom

As I bring this reflection to a close, I’m reminded of that original concern: that false knowledge — things I believe to be true but are not — can obstruct my journey toward genuine wisdom. These mistaken certainties are especially dangerous because they feel settled, even comforting, and often go unchallenged. But if I am to become truly wise, I must cultivate a posture of humility that is willing to unlearn, to admit I was wrong, to repent of error, and to allow the Spirit to renew my mind. Wisdom cannot grow in soil already crowded with weeds of false assumptions. To move forward, I must be willing to dig up what is untrue — even what I once fiercely believed — so that truth can take root.

In my quest for wisdom, I don’t want to settle for my opinion as the truth. Even if it means facing my own error or shame, I want to know what actually is — to see truth as God sees it, not as I’ve imagined it. Wisdom demands that I trade my assumptions for reality, my comfort for clarity.

One further encouragement comes from James, who offers this assurance to those who recognize their need for wisdom:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5).

But asking isn’t the same as instantly receiving. The Holy Spirit plays an essential role in awakening me to truth, but gaining wisdom is not a lightning strike — it’s a lifelong shaping. As Paul says, I must “work out [my] salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). Likewise, wisdom grows in me through the long obedience of surrender, trust, and transformation.

Jesus is not merely the giver of wisdom — He is wisdom incarnate:

“But of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God — and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:30)

In Him, I see the perfect integration of information, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. He taught truth, lived truth, and gave His life to make truth accessible to me. I don’t want to settle for merely becoming a smarter person; for “smarter” often just means more informed — and knowledge, Paul reminds me, can puff up. I’ve seen how easy it is to stall there, collecting theological facts without allowing them to penetrate and transform.

In a previous letter I wrote on the epistle of James, I reflected on how he shatters our assumptions by declaring that faith without works is dead. In the same way, I must ask: what good is knowledge if it is not worked out into wisdom? Just as faith must be lived to be real, so knowledge must be practiced to bear the fruit of wisdom — the kind that shapes character, deepens love, and glorifies God. Wisdom is not merely something I possess or admire, like a volume placed on a shelf. It is active — living and working in me and through me — forming me into the likeness of Christ and bearing fruit in the lives of others. It is the dynamic evidence of God’s truth being lived out and multiplied.

“In [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3)

And so my prayer is this: may I not settle for accumulating insight, but pursue wisdom with the urgency of one who knows that in finding it, I’m not just enlightened — I’m drawn ever closer to the heart of God.

“…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord…”

Iam Kerr

Written with assistance from ChatGPT.