Many people will argue that chasing after beauty and physical appearance is shallow and foolish, but that one should chase for knowledge and intellect. I will agree that obtaining knowledge is far better than acquiring physical beauty, but why go after either? We teach people that being smart is the key to success in life, yet I strongly disagree. It is the key to success in THIS life, but what good will the knowledge do once it is laying in a box six feet under the surface doing nothing? This may sound a bit dark, but it is the truth. This is a truth that I came to realize about a year ago. I was chasing after a physics degree at the University of Tennessee when I began to think about my death. To some this may sound creepy, but I am not referring to the actual act of me dying, but what my death will mean and how I will feel about my life right before death comes to me. This is a very popular question for many philosophers. Everyone has heard the big speeches on how wealth is meaningless and cannot be taken with you once you die. Side Note: I want to share my religious beliefs so that people will understand where I stand and what I mean when I make certain comments such as "THIS life." I am a Christian. Some may ask what denomination I am, but to them I will reply with the same answer that I am a Christian. I do not group myself, and find the idea of denominations within the Christian faith saddening and a great weakness for Christians. End of Side Note. So we understand that collecting massive amounts of wealth, though many may still do so, is self-centered and only an earthly desire. What I am trying to say is that the pursuit of knowledge is the same thing. We have all heard of the people who describe themselves as "not being people persons" and they usually spend their hours with hobbies or obtaining knowledge/skills. Is this any different then the greedy Scrooge who shunned people in his pursuit of more wealth? Knowledge is just as much for ourselves as it is for anyone else. It is true that some use their great intelligence to help people, but the same can be said about money. There are people in this world who have acquired great wealth honestly and use it to better others lives as well. This is a great use of wealth and there is nothing wrong with it, but when the wealth is used purely for selfish, self-indulging reasons then it has become corruptive. Knowledge is the same way. If one uses their knowledge to help the people around them then it is a great gift that God has given to the person, but if their knowledge is used against others or is hoarded up inside their head for their own enjoyment then it as well has become corrupt. I am not saying that one should not become an intelligent person because they should. There is a large difference between being educated and chasing after knowledge relentlessly. During my freshman year of college I was on a path where I wanted to learn as much as I possibly could, and I was not doing it to better society. I wanted it because I felt a satisfaction from becoming smarter and smarter. It corrupted me the more knowledge I gained because with each bit of intellect came a growing ego. Everyone can see where this is going. It becomes a snowball effect the same way money does for a person. The actual paper money is not evil or bad at all, but what we do with it is. Same goes for knowledge. When it comes to death, knowledge is the same as money. All those things you learned are going to sit in your head or disappear when you die. Honestly I am not really sure how it exactly works when you die of course, but I am positive the earthly knowledge will have no value where we are going after death just like earthly treasure will carry no value. Some may be fussing in their head that in one's life they could write books upon books to leave their knowledge to the world which is very true, but will those books not eventually decay as well? Maybe you passed on what you know to someone else, but can you not do the same with your money? All that will create is the knowledge being passed down from generation to generation never actually gaining any value for a person after death. It will always be an earthly treasure. My point to all of this is that we should be making our focus not on appearance or knowledge, but on other people. The souls of the people you interact with every day will carry on after death, and will remain just as valuable. The connections you make with people will change them and could effect their future for eternity. People want to say "I am just not a people person" and to them I respond "to what value then do you have to God." This may sound harsh, but is it not true? God loves everyone equally no matter where or who you are, but God wants to grow his kingdom. Not being a people person does nothing for God's kingdom and does nothing for God. He will still love you just as much as anyone else, but you will serve no purpose for him because the only thing that will be increasing in your life are things that are worthless to God. I don't say this to sound condescending or to tell people that what they are doing is a waist of time, but I say it only to share with people a fact that changed my life. Those of you working towards a career or already in one, that is great and there is nothing wrong with it. Gaining knowledge is great, but it is how you use it that matters. It is fine to use it to get a great job or advance your career, that is why you got it in the first place most likely, but do not forget about all the other people while you are doing it. I made a personal decision to change my major and dedicate my life to God as a pastor. That was merely a personal thing that I felt God has been leading me too, but I do not think that if you do not do this that it is wrong. I actually believe the opposite because many people do amazing things with their knowledge and in their careers that save lives and help thousands of people. My only complaint with society is that we need to get back to the important things in life and that is people.
Sincerely - CO
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