The old saying says, “Curiosity killed the cat.” But I wonder how many spiritual lives curiosity has also claimed. Maybe you know of someone who is always captivated by what is obscure, or by what is blatantly suspect, or even erroneous. Their mind craves the juicy intellectual morsels of spiritual junk food, and their heart lusts after the scandal of what is akin to spiritual smut. Perhaps they heard tell of a rumor about some long lost gospel accounts and their curiosity is piqued. Or they heard that some false religion’s writings contained some tantalizing idioms and so they sought and purchased them for themselves. Or maybe they were recommended some other heinous book with questionable doctrine by a compromised author and they just had to read it for themselves. O the sad state of such people is that they are “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2Tim. 3:7)
But what is the driving force behind such curiosity? Sadly, it is our corrupt and fallen nature that makes us prone and desirous of what is false, and evil, and harmful. Our fallen nature leads us to think that there is some benefit that we can gain from taking in and absorbing material that is not good. We think it is good to be “well read” and to have a “broad spectrum” of sources to draw from. Ultimately it is our great pride that makes us think we can indulge our curiosity in these things without suffering harm from them. Jesus warned, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” (Mk. 8:15b) And surely, those two are not the only ones we ought to beware of! The falsehoods we intentionally allow ourselves to perceive and to hear cannot help but to infiltrate our hearts and our minds. Even the most discerning need to be on their guard, because even a small amount of error can grow to produce disastrous results in their thinking and devotion. Gal. 5:9 – “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.”
Sadly, that same fallen nature that drives our curiosity for worthless and harmful things also makes us to be adverse to what is actually good for our souls. We have it completely backwards! We crave the trash, and we find that which is truly nutritious to our souls to be dull and bland. We find it more palatable to consume what will kill us, than to feast upon what gives us life! O that we would perceive the glory and sufficiency of the Scriptures (2Tim. 3:14-17). But I find often, that the people who are most curious for what is spurious are those who most neglect their Bibles. They can’t find time to read the Word, but let them hear but a hint of some curious thing, and they will immediately purchase three books on the topic and will spend their whole evening researching the matter on the internet.
The Scriptures instruct us about what to do in the face of our curiosity in such things. Heb. 13:9 says – “Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.” Do not be deceived into thinking that your heart can be “established” in any other way. Either your heart will be grounded and firmly rooted in the true grace and knowledge of God, or it will be carried away and occupied by things that will ruin you. Curiosity may or may not kill the cat, but those who partake of poisoned meals will fall sick and die. Don’t let your fallen nature allow your curiosity to rule you. But instead “be renewed in the spirit of your mind,” and “put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph. 4:23-24) Long for the pure milk of the Word, and pass by the supposedly delectable dishes that cannot really profit you.
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