Recently I was trying to do something I had no idea how to do. Let’s call it HTML coding. The point I need to stress here is I was starting at point 0. I’d done little to no coding and didn’t understand HTML, and still don’t.
It’s not my job to know HTML so it was fine, it was just something I had to figure out.
I was doing some research and trying to understand the format needed for what I was trying to create. Looking at the code I made some assumptions. For example, I thought a symbol at the beginning indicated “this is the start” and a symbol at the end indicated “this is the end.”
I spent a lot of time struggling with this. As I thought I was figuring something out, I’d test it, and realize I was getting farther away. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong.
I finally engaged someone I worked with. This person knew almost nothing about HTML. If I was a 0 this person was a 1. He also knew very little about HTML but he immediately recognized something. The part at the beginning that I thought indicated the start wasn’t needed at all. It could be removed.
I removed the beginning and it looked exactly how I needed it to.
He knew little, but the little he knew made a huge difference.
I realized something from this. I saw how devastating ignorance can be. If I knew just a little, I could have completed this task very quickly. Instead, I spent a lot of time going in circles.
Why is knowledge so important? Because ignorance kills.
I think we see this principle amplified in our society today. We are surrounded by misinformation and while we’re in the age of technology and information is at our fingertips, false information is as easily accessible as true information.
What this makes me appreciate is the truth and knowledge of God. There is no misinformation with Him. There is no ignorance. God knows our yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He is all truth.
I’m glad that what we learn here goes with us. I’m glad the knowledge we gain here stays with us and helps us. This is one of my favorite principles of the gospel.
No Coincidences 