Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

Was doing some personal contemplation, when I happened to find this on Huanyan's blog... think it's very timely! :)

Stay hungry, stay foolish. This is exactly what Steve Jobs said to the graduates during the Stanford commencement ceremony. I was thinking, how relevant is it for Christ believers to stay hungry and stay foolish.

He who is full loathes honey,
but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.
- Proverbs 27:7

God wants us to stay hungry for His Words. He wants us to continually taste Him and know that He is good.

For it is written:
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."

Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
- 1 Corinthians 1:19-21

And God wants us to stay 'foolish' in Him. It does not go to say that we must be fool, but it goes to say that we need to know that we need to be constantly aware that we are fools when we are compared to God's wisdom. We want to stay foolish and hungry in front of God's throne, so that we continually receive His wisdom with humility.

You know, something that struck me very much when HQ and I were having Bible study with a friend (let's call him TH) last Saturday was TH's attitude to willingness to learn and find out more, even though he's not a Christian.

HQ and I were very pleasantly surprised and blessed by TH's answers - because he had a clearer and better understanding of some of the truths in the Bible than a lot of Christians! In fact, I really wanted to exclaim to this dear friend, "Hey! You are not far from the kingdom of God!" In fact, some of the thoughts he shared during that time helped me grow in a deeper understanding and appreciation for the truths in the Bible.

What can I make of this experience? Think the first thing that I learnt from this experience, combined together with Huanyan's blog entry, was that God welcomes all who truly seek the truth. Even though TH's a very intelligent guy - he was a scholarship recipient previously - he has a very willing heart to learn from others... one of the things that he shared struck me: "I don't know everything - that's why I have to ask the experts!" And this from a guy who has gone to some of the best schools in Singapore, and won a big-time scholarship before...

Humility, a hungry heart to learn. And I realise that I don't have a hungry heart to learn. Oh no! But thank God for His timely rebuke... I want to learn all my life... to learn His ways and to seek wisdom all the days of my life. Humility. A hungry heart to learn from others.