Have you experienced that awkward moment when a question was thrown at you and you threw back an answer that you were convinced made zero meaning? In order not to appear ignorant, you just crafted a combination of words while exuding sterling confidence built on a foundation of thin air, knowing quite well that you were not making any sense. In most cases, the people asking the questions are nice enough and play along pretending to understand you so that you will not be embarrassed.
One of my friends was not that lucky in an encounter that he had with a senior executive at work. As part of the processes to get a required approval, he had to explain some details to the senior executive. When asked a question, he had no clue what the right answer was, but decided to ride his luck and just say something. He did not expect what he heard next. The boss told him: “If you don’t know, just say you don’t know”. You can only imagine the rush of blood to his face when those words hit his ears.
At the root of this behaviour in most cases is the feeling of: “I should know this but I’m ashamed that I don’t know and I don’t want to be seen as someone who doesn’t know”. In Zechariah Chapter 4, Zerubbabel could have pretended that he understood what he was seeing. He was a reputable prophet and he should have known what the vision meant based on his long years of prophetic experience. The angel’s questions in verses 5 and 13 tend to suggest that he expected Zerubbabel to know and understand what he was seeing. Zerubbabel, however, did not know and he was not ashamed to say that he did not know. This admission gave him the opportunity to receive an accurate interpretation of the vision from the angel in those two instances. He chose the higher path of stooping low to learn and it paid off like it always does.
When we don’t have the answer and we pretend to know, we leave the person asking the question with an impression of us that might be difficult to change in the future. The shame we were trying to avoid may now come to us in multiples. No matter how long you’ve been in church, it’s okay not to know answers to some questions. You may even be a pastor. It is still okay. And then as a teacher, it is okay to tell your students that you don’t know but make a commitment to get back to them with the answer.
The chance to say “I don’t know” may not always be an opportunity to learn anything, it may just be an opportunity to simply say “I don’t know” and move on without shame. Humility. We are not omniscient and it’s okay not to know somethings. But this does not mean that we should bask in blissful ignorance and not seek to acquire the requisite knowledge and indeed more. It is also instructive not to plan to answer “I don’t know” to the same question more than once. The first one is enough cue for us to go and research the topic.
Keep learning!
Chidi Ukandu's Blog 