Accountability Counts. (Thinking of Puffy Bunny marshmallow Game)

In Book 1, Chapter 2, Paragraph 3, Good Thomas turns his attention to the knowledge element in more detail (see previous post) by focusing on the accountability element to our level of knowledge.  He tells us that knowledge carries a stiff price.  It's okay to be smart (which is different than being knowledgeable) and to know many things, but having the wisdom to put both gifts together is the challenge:

3. The greater and more complete your knowledge, the more strictly accountable you will be at the day of your judgment unless your life be also more holy by measure. Therefore do not be puffed up with any skill or knowledge but rather be accountable for the knowledge which has been given to you.

If it seems to you that you know many things and understand many things well enough, know at the same time that there are many, many more things of which you do not know at all.

Do not be high-minded but rather acknowledge your ignorance. Why would you want to let yourself be above others when there are many others with more knowledge and skill in the Scriptures than you? If you would know and learn anything to its purpose, love to be unknown and be considered as nothing in the sight of others.

In the first paragraph, the leaven for knowing a great deal is holiness, and leading a holy life.  Do you also have the wisdom of knowing when enough is enough?  Does your knowledge have value, or is it just trivial, ego-boosting? 

These questions reminded me of a game my boys used to play in Cub Scouts:  The puffy bunny marshmallow game.  In that game, you are to stuff your mouth full of marshmallows to the point of "cheek exhaustion" and then be able to say "puffy bunny".  The game is silly and fun and the results are hilarious, but I couldn't help but think of it as an analogy for comparing to this passage on knowledge.  Marshmallows have almost no nutritional value, and too many of them in your mouth will keep you from being understood. So to "win" at the puffy bunny marshmallow game, you need to know when to stop ingesting the marshmallows so you can at least say "Puffy Bunny".

And like the puffy bunny game, in the next paragraph, Thomas tells us that no matter how many items we stuff into our heads, there's so much more that we still do not or cannot know.  Just one more marshmallow?

So where does humility fit in?  The last paragraph tells us that being humble in our knowledge is the best practice, since there are clearly others who know more, not only about "things" but about The Lord or The Scriptures.  I can think of at least 4 people right out of Scripture, who know more than me:  Jesus, Solomon, Moses, St. Paul.  And I'm fairly sure my Bishop and my Pastor knows more than me.  Then there's my friend Kay, who reads her Bible daily. And I'm fairlysure that my friends and Deacons, Dave and Tom know more than me...hmmm.  Anyone else?  Of course there is our Patron Saint here, Good Thomas A'Kempis, who knows more than me.  So with that august crowd, I'm feeling okay with acknowledgeing my ignorance here.

My prayer then, is this:  "Lord Jesus, please help me to moderate my eagerness to know so much about everything.  Help me to direct this effort with Your leaven of humilty and holiness.  Help me to seek those things worth knowing, especially where it concerns You or The Faith.  And where the Faith is the focus, please know me more for my holiness and obedience to You than for my knowledge of Scripture."

Thank you for reading and praying along with me. 'Til next time, be Imitators of Christ!
tim
p.s.  Next time we will finish up Chapter 2 with an exploration of how to empathize with all those bad people out there.  We will first look at our friend in the mirror.