Recently I keep on thinking about this topic. When I claim that I know something or have knowledge about something, it doesn’t mean that I understand it in the proper way. But most of the times – because of the habit :p – when I think I have the knowledge of something, then I assume that I know everything about it, and there’s where the pride sneak in unconsciously and I start to have personal opinion (judgment?) about certain thing/situation/condition.

But then I think… for example, I know there’s an animal called elephant – my knowledge about the elephant is that it is a big creature with 4 legs, 1 big trunk as a nose and slim tiny tail compared to the size of the body. à but I don’t understand why elephant shaped that way, and what is the other use of the long trunk beside for breathing and taking food, and why the tail is so slim compared to the size of the body?

Another example… I have the knowledge about salmon from the materials I read – salmon swims in a group (school of fish – that’s what they said) – and they swim against the tide. BUT I don’t understand why they swim against the tide? Does this type of fish like challenges? Or do they simply just following their behavior that has been taught by the elder salmon without knowing that it is easier to swim following the tide? Or do they crazy? – I simply don’t understand this.

I might have the knowledge – but it doesn’t mean I have enough understanding why certain thing happens, or certain people think certain way or even do certain things that are out of the value believed by most people in the society.

I’m working in the IT field, and sometimes I’m struck by people’s questions about the product I’m selling. I know how to answer explicitly about certain functionality, but then I realize there are a lot of times when I don’t understand why the functions created or developed in certain ways. I could have the knowledge I know to tell people about what it is all about, but I also face my own struggles sometimes to understand the reason behind why certain function designed in a certain way, and not in another way around.

The knowledge cannot be used as a guarantee that I understand certain things/situation. But the knowledge is only the beginning for me to learn to understand about certain things/situation.

This morning I woke up with a thought. This is applied in every area of my life. I live surrounded by other people. I might have knowledge about something – or certain situation – or about someone else – but I might not be able to understand fully why someone do something…

I have the knowledge that eating junk food is not good – because of many reasons shared by many people – but I don’t understand why many people still eating junk food even though they know that it’s not good for their health, and I find that me myself eating junk food also sometimes. The knowledge and the things we do sometimes on the opposite side :).

I end up with a conclusion that I shouldn’t have the habit to judge other people of what they are doing, because I might not understand the reason of so many things, why they do what they do. Moreover it is very possible that the knowledge that I know is not the most updated knowledge somehow ;).

And at one point, I even realize … sometimes I don’t understand myself about why I’m doing a certain things that is opposite of the knowledge that I know and believe :p.

This morning my reading is about Matthew – the tax collector who then become a disciple. When I read the story… I feel that Jesus is a very eccentric person… He passed near Matthew the tax collector, and out of the blue He offered him to be a disciple. My human mind and understanding cannot digest it clearly. From all the people around there by that time… why it should be the tax collector? And among the tax collector…why it was Matthew? There must be something that my human mind cannot understand for sure.

And I don’t understand also why Matthew accepted the offer right away, why he then agreed to become a disciple and left the job as the tax collector?

It shows that I simply don’t have enough understanding about life and everything about it… I might learn to gain the knowledge, but knowledge cannot be an assurance that I would have enough understanding for life.

Everyone has their own battle, everyone decide their own life story… sometimes we might want to help those we love so much to be out of the difficulties in their life, but sometimes there’s a boundary that everyone’s life is their own responsibility… what we can do for those we love… is to be there at anytime they need us when life seems get tough for them, and accept them as who they are… because we’re all the same… we’re human and we make mistake from day to day :).