When Ignorance is Dangerous

Some say ignorance is bliss.

You may be content not knowing certain things. But there are times when ignorance is dangerous.

What happened when John and I were first married is a hilarious example.

One day, my new husband decided to tune up our old car. He said it was “running rough.”

John headed to the auto parts store to get a new distributor cap, rotor, wires, and a set of spark plugs. He soon returned home, confident this would solve the problem.

John hooked up everything.

After he did, he instructed me to start the car. When I turned the key, the engine made a series of loud, explosive bangs.

At the unexpected noise, I nearly jumped out of the driver’s seat. Then the car belched out a puff of blue smoke.

I knew something was definitely wrong!

My husband decided to drive the car back to the auto parts store, suspecting they had given him the wrong parts. He asked me to come along since the store was a mile up the hill. If the car couldn’t make it up the incline, he figured I could help him push. Yeah, right!

When we rode along, the engine bucked and banged.

The car shook violently as it climbed the hill. Loud bangs, sounding like gunshots, emanated from under the hood. Clouds of smoke from the exhaust followed. I clung to the door handle, fearful the engine might explode.

The neighbors stared at us as we passed their houses. (Fortunately, no one called the police to report a gunfight.)

The car finally made the journey up the hill.

It bucked like a bronco and then died. The engine let out its last gasp right in front of the auto parts store.

I breathed a sigh of relief that we had made the trip alive. This was one time when ignorance is dangerous!

John hurried inside to talk to the manager.

The man asked, “Are you sure you hooked them up in the right order?”

“What do you mean?” my husband said, giving him a deer-in-the-headlights look.

The manager explained to him he had to install the spark plugs wires to the distributor cap in the proper order. He gave John a chart illustrating the correct way. Then the man came out to our car and showed him how to read the chart.

The light dawned on him at last.

John now understood why the cylinders were backfiring. He had connected the spark pug wires to the wrong terminals in the distributor cap. They were firing out of order. No wonder the engine made such terrible noises!

He hooked up the spark plugs correctly, and we went home. The return trip was so peaceful, I wondered if the engine was still running. What a dramatic difference knowing the right sequence made!

Ignorance can cause other problems, even serious problems.

Centuries ago, people died of serious infections because people didn’t know about germs. This ignorance wasn’t bliss: it was deadly. It’s also deadly for people who don’t know the difference between edible mushrooms and poisonous ones. Yes, this is when ignorance is dangerous.

The most risky ignorance involves a choice you cannot undo.

A lot of times we can correct a wrong choice and avoid suffering ill effects. Yet there is one kind of ignorance that has terrifying consequences: choosing the way to our final destination.

If we get this one wrong, we can’t change the outcome.

Haven’t most people got this question covered?

Many people attempt to get to heaven by doing enough good deeds or religious acts. They hope their good deeds will balance out the bad.

Unfortunately, they don’t know that God provided a better way. It’s the only way which will satisfy him completely.

Not knowing God’s way will be disastrous.

Most of us recognize a loving God, but we forget that He is also holy. As a righteous God, He cannot tolerate evil in His presence. Even one tiny little mistake on our part will separate us from Him forever and bring death.

No matter how good we are, we can never meet His standard of perfection. Nothing will erase the sentence of death on us except God’s own plan.

What plan do I mean?

God loved us enough to come up with an ingenious plan. He figured out a way to satisfy His righteousness and at the same time rescue us. He exchanged His perfect Son to take our place and free us from the penalty we deserve.

All we have to do is accept it. That’s terrific news!

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” Titus 3:5 (KJV)

Imagine that!

God loved us and came up with this marvelous plan. He devised a way to patch up our relationship with Him, yet many persons are not familiar with it

They are still trying to satisfy God by their own efforts. They don’t know such methods are doomed to fail.

Their lack of knowledge will have severe consequences. The result will be far my horrifying than my husband’s when he hooked up the wrong wires.

Hopefully they will discover the truth before it is too late. Maybe God will allow you to help someone find it this week. After all, isn’t this kind of ignorance the most dangerous of all?