The weather report said the waters on the bay were running with a 3 – 6 foot swell. With the prevailing winds, those in the know said that the seas were going to be rough and choppy. If we went out on the boat we were going to feel like we had been in a fight. The choice was ours. They knew. We did not. Yet they left it to us to decide.
On what basis were we going to make our decision? This was our one chance go to out on the bay. The weather report could be wrong. On the other hand, it was more likely than not correct.
In the knowledge we could be wrong, the decision makers took a call to go.
Six plus hours later, my body beaten, I reflected on the experience.
Knowing the logic of the situation was not lesson of the day. Paul’s way of describing a similar situation rang true in my mind. “In strict logic, then, nothing happened to the meat when it was offered up to an idol. It’s just like any other meat. I know that, and you know that. But knowing isn’t everything. If it becomes everything, some people end up as know-it-alls who treat others as know-nothings. Real knowledge isn’t that insensitive.” (1 Corinthians 8.7a)
Knowing the bay and the knowledge that came with it was, in this situation, not that insensitive. The experience of giving trumped staying comfortable.
In my battered state, I am thankful for their yes. For the first time I saw yellow-finned tuna jumping free. I watched a pair of sharks chase bait fish. I felt wildly alive catching fish over a shoal every minute or two for an hour. Their gift while knowing was my experience to keep.
I wake tired and bruised yet richer for the experience. Would I do it again? Yes! I also leave with a model I want to embrace more often. Knowledge does not need to be insensitive. It can be a gift, freely embraced and given to others as they may choose
