Bedside Watchman -- BEING PUFFED UP

Last Updated on : October 11, 2014

The Bedside Watchman

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August 27th -- 1 Corinthians 8

BEING PUFFED UP

THE apostle Paul wrote, "Knowledge puffeth up". He was not condemning knowledge, but simply stating a truth. Knowledge of the right kind is excellent, but even that may tend to inflate the individual who possesses it. Men may be puffed up even by their knowledge of the Scriptures, especially if their reading has been ill balanced. Much charity is needed to guard against this evil and to make knowledge lead to edification.
There are people who will say that it is only the dangerous "little knowledge" that puffs men up, while those who have studied deeply are truly humble and never boast. This thought has been stated often, but it is not true. Indeed it would be difficult to define the words of such a saying. All the knowledge of mankind is only little. The most ignorant and the most cultured are only separated by a few degrees. It is quite true that intelligent people perceive the ugliness and folly of blatant boasting and so if they boast they do it more skilfully. Or it is possible for a man to feel himself so superior to the common run of humanity that he finds no pleasure in the admiration of the multitude. His detachment is a form of pride, and he may fall into the worst of errors by being puffed up against God.

ISLIP COLLYER, Principles and Proverbs, pages 128-129