Read Daniel 1:17-20; 2:19-23

Slice it any way you wish, ignorance is not bliss. Dress it in whatever garb you please, ignorance is not attractive. Neither is it the mark of humility nor the path to spirituality. It certainly is not the companion of wisdom.

On the contrary, it is the breeding ground for fear, prejudice, and superstition...the feeding trough for unthinking animals...the training field for slavery. It is blind and naked (Tennyson), the mother of impudence (Spurgeon), it brings despairing darkness (Shakespeare), never settles a question (Disraeli), nor promotes innocence (Browning). And yet it remains the favourite plea of the guilty, the excuse of the lazy—and even the Christian’s rationalization for immaturity.

We dare not fall into that trap! Our spiritual fathers didn’t. Trace your heritage back to Moses and you find that the people were given the Truth of God in written form that they might know and that their children might know the right path to follow.

In Samuel’s day, a school of the prophets was formed to dispel the ignorance among the people.

This philosophy carried into the New Testament as Jesus frequently rebuked His listeners for not reading, not knowing the underlying principles for living. How often Paul expressed similar convictions with such strong words as, “I do not want you to be unaware.” Dr. Luke commended the church at Berea because they were “examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).

Daniel and his three fellow Hebrews mentioned in Daniel 1 provide one of many biblical examples of human intellect employed for God’s purposes. As you read today’s Scripture, notice the quality and the source of Daniel’s intellect.

What can you do to receive fully the mental riches God makes available to you? How can you get started today?

Excerpted from Come Before Winter and Share My Hope, Copyright © 1985, 1994 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.