HUNT FOR RELEVANT KNOWLEDGE

The story of Christopher Columbus is relevant to our discussion. He was a voyager who made several voyages around the then known world. In one of his journeys, he had no food and his companions were hungry.

They got to an island where they saw people wining and dining. They begged for food but they refused Christopher Columbus and his crew food. All entreaties made fell on deaf ears.

Christopher Columbus remembered reading in a book that eclipse of the sun was to happen in days to come. He told the Islanders that he would cause darkness to cover the land. They ignored him.

After some days, darkness covered the whole land. The Islanders remembered what Columbus said about making darkness cover the whole land. They rushed to him begging for forgiveness and they gave him food that was sufficient for him and his crew.

Probably they thought he had special powers but what he had was just knowledge. He leveraged on his investment in getting relevant knowledge to get what he wanted.

The world is designed to run as a knowledge economy. Sometimes, what differentiates the rich from the poor is knowledge. Two persons might be doing thesame business but the successful one likely knows something the other person doesn't know.

There was a time I needed an information urgently. Someone recommended a man to me who could shed light on the matter. When I called this man on phone, he said, "I sell knowledge. So you'll have to pay me for the knowledge and my time." Brethren, I paid.

There are nations without mineral resources but their GDP is from the large pool of intellectuals who have used their knowledge to create values worth exporting to other parts of the world. This is how life is designed. We all are trading value to get what we want.

The man that has relevant value to add get the most. In life, you'll end up paying for what you don't know. However, you must also invest relevant knowledge in yourself so that you'll be paid for what others do not know that they need.

Apostle Paul's writings and speeches showed that he invested relevant knowledge in himself. Little wonder why he stood before the intellectuals of his day at the Areopagus.

Theologians agree that Pauline corpus must be studied as a course and interpreted differently because his mastery of Greek language and writing style which differ from others. He was a scholar.

It is obvious that he was diligent and studious. He said, "When you come, be sure to bring the coat I left with Carpus at Troas. Also bring my books, and especially my papers"(2Tim4:13).

This is the time to invest in quality books and hunt for relevant information that can benefit your life. That's how to invest in knowledge. The scope of your knowledge should not be limited to that course you studied in school. Read wide and broaden your horizon.

The answer to some of the things you're praying about may be written inside a book. Ignorance has killed many and stagnated many lives than pandemic.

The secret of great men is in what they know that many do not know. Your investment in getting knowledge will pay off some day. Don't cheat yourself, this is how the world is designed to run.