I will preface this with the feeling that my thoughts seem quite scattered. Here are the thoughts that ran through my head when reading The Moral Obligation to be Intelligent. First of all, I found it fascinating to think that intelligence would equate evil. John 8:32 specifically says that truth will cause freedom. Perhaps freedom is in itself a moral obligation. I feel that many are focused on the importance of being intelligent and in that focus, the mark is missed. As a student raised in the public school system, our obligation was to make perfect grades in school and do as instructed by the educators. Is this a quest for intelligence set forth by parents or rather a focus on performance? During those years of education, I succeeded. I was a good student, but looking back, there was not cultivation of intelligence. (My parents were fantastic and showed much compassion, the blame cannot be laid on them but rather the cultural mindset of what "success" appeared to be). Through this experience and now with my own children, I want to make knowledge a constant quest, to never stop learning or desiring to know more. Not to be superior but to be faithful in all things God has given to us. To constantly be searching to better myself in all areas of wisdom. The importance, for myself to not be concerned with others opinions, but to search for the truth and how it applies to my own family, is growing daily. In today's world, we are consumed with knowledge being power but only if someone tells us what is to be believed. Making facebook, twitter, and the likes as biases for facts that are talked/gossiped about (at least in the community we live in :)), only confirms that we are not obligated to intelligence. But rather have become a people focused on the present and the instant gratification of our needs. The responsibility that we have to be constantly learning and growing is monumental. I must have a desire to grow and learn and to use the abilities that God given us, but not forsaking justice, kindness, compassion in a quest for intelligence.
