Most of us have heard the phrase “Ignorance is bliss”. It suggests that when we don’t know something—or don’t know it deeply—we experience more happiness. This can mean being ignorant of certain evils in the world, or of situations around us that might cause us discomfort or pull us into hard circumstances. 

There are situations where ignorance is good. For example, children should remain ignorant of certain things in this world until they are old enough to handle it. I think it’s also good to choose ignorance as an adult when it involves gossip or unnecessary drama. In most instances, this type of ignorance protects rather than harms.

But there are times when choosing ignorance is unwise. 

As adults, we can often default to ignorance because we don’t want to be uncomfortable, because we’ve already made a decision about something in our heads, or because we are lazy in our pursuit of knowledge. For me it is often a combination of these. Social media has made this easier. It allows us to put up walls that keep us unknowing – walls plastered with voices who agree with us – boosting our comfort and making us double down when confronted with something real, or something difficult. 

I first recognized this in myself while scrolling on social media. A video came up on my feed of a woman claiming that the testimonies in the New Testament are unreliable, and therefore the New Testament is void. The first time it played, I only listened for a few seconds. When I realized she didn’t align with what I believed, I skipped it. 

As I continued scrolling, I felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit within me. I knew I had skipped it because it made me uncomfortable. I scrolled back up and watched the whole thing. 

It still made me uncomfortable, but instead of ignoring it, I found myself thinking through how I would respond in a conversation. The video made me think, made me curious about questions I hadn’t thought of before concerning the validity of the Scriptures. It didn’t cause doubt; it made me more curious about my own faith traditions. It’s crazy that I almost missed that moment simply because I wanted to stay in my “good, strong, theologically correct bubble”. 

Social media works against us when it comes to breaking free of ignorance. As mentioned previously, the algorithms feed us what it thinks we want to see. This perpetuates our comfort. Sometimes we don’t even realize we’re mostly surrounded by people who agree with us. And the videos that pop-up that show the “other side”? The algorithm knows we’ll spend more time engaging – potentially arguing in the comments or ranting to ourselves. And again, without knowing, we double down on our beliefs and label those in the video. We grow intolerant either out of anger towards those who disagree or out of the threat it poses to our comfort. 

And this is just one side of the ignorance social media feeds us.

The other side is the indulgent mindset, the side that says “Don’t look at the world! It’s too evil to handle so here’s a funny video instead!”. We are constantly pushed headlines of tragedies and injustices, then immediately shown videos of dancing cats and funny fails to make us feel better. I’m guilty of skipping past all the political, theological or hot topic videos in order to find something that would make me “feel better”. In reality, I don’t want to feel anything at all when I do that. I want to stay in my safe walls, and disengage from anything broken in myself or in our world. 

In most cases, this chosen ignorance actually brings pain; either to ourselves or others. I have hurt others with ignorant words. Even while trying to defend my faith, I have hurt those closest to me. When you haven’t learned the fragile cracks within someone’s heart, it is easy to stampede like a valiant warrior only to find you caused more damage. 

I recently read an example of this in Judges 11:29 – 40. Jephthah was a warrior who had the Spirit of the Lord upon him. He made a vow that if the Lord would deliver him in battle, he would sacrifice as a burnt offering the first thing that comes out of his house upon his return. After winning the battle he arrives home to his only daughter coming out of the door dancing and celebrating. He is distraught, explains his vow, and gives her 2 months to grieve. The text then says he follows through with his vow. 

Both Christian and Jewish readings of the text condemn Jephthah’s actions. He was not faithful when fulfilling the vow. His vow was rash, foolish, and ignorant of the Law. His vow would have been void under the Law which forbids human sacrifice. His vow (though made in some attempt of being faithful) was ignorant, and caused irreversible harm to his daughter.

Ignorance is not redemption.

When we completely ignore or only accept narratives around tragedies at face-value, we lose the opportunity to learn and to actively love. This is true both on social media, and in the lives of those around us. Redemption requires an understanding of what is broken. A builder can’t restore a crumbling house without first inspecting it thoroughly. It is the same with us. We cannot expect to bring Christ’s redemption into broken spaces if we do not take the time to learn the brokenness there. 

This reality of deep knowledge is the sweetness of the Gospel. Jesus knew our brokenness to the most intimate extent and yet He chose to redeem us through His death and resurrection. Knowledge spurs on a sweeter love than ignorance ever could. 

Ephesians 4:11–15 reminds us of this:

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”

So where do we go from here?

The world seems to encourage ignorance. If we continue to forsake knowledge, remaining ignorant, we will bring further hurt on ourselves and others. The first step is recognition. I first recognized it in my discomfort watching content that challenged my faith. Maybe it’s similar for you, or maybe you back away from hard situations or conversations, maybe you disengage from certain people, or maybe you get defensive when others point out sin patterns in your life. 

I want you to know that these things shouldn’t feel shameful. You are not alone. I have been guilty of all of them.

But recognition is not the end. It is only the beginning of repentance. 

Prayer is always a mighty weapon, and it’s a great place to begin. Life and people are nuanced and I would be ignorant if I didn’t acknowledge that. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in next steps. Seek out a trusted church leader or mentor to help you navigate this. Approach things with curiosity rather than worrying about having the right answers.

 Most importantly, lean into the discomfort. It won’t be easy at first. It’s like getting into a cold pool. You’ll want to shrink back, and get out of it. I encourage not to. 

Rejecting ignorance means we have a greater clarity in how to pray, how to love and how to help those in need. Rejecting ignorance allows us to step into situations that others would normally shy away from. This is true whether these situations are near or far. Approaching people with the goal of learning allows for love to flow into spaces we once avoided or ignored. Choose to grow in the knowledge of Christ, yourself and others deeply, and watch as love pours out. And this is the type of love that will help bring Christ’s redemption to the world.