HOW TO DEAL WITH A KNOW IT ALL

 

In a religious context, a "Mr. Know-it-all" (or "Mrs. Know-it-all") typically refers to someone who acts as though they have complete knowledge and understanding of religious matters, often to the point of being dismissive of others' opinions or teachings

. This attitude can be detrimental to both the individual's spiritual growth and the overall health of the church community. 

Characteristics of a religious "Know-it-all": 

• Critical and unteachable: They may focus on finding fault with others' understanding or interpretations rather than seeking to learn or grow themselves.
• Impatient and lacking grace: Due to their belief in their own correctness, they may have little patience for those who don't agree with them or who are still learning.
• Domineering in discussions: They may monopolize conversations, quote experts excessively, and discourage others from sharing their thoughts or insights.
• Unsympathetic: They may struggle to empathize with those who are weak or struggling, as they perceive no personal weaknesses.
• Divisive: Their focus on pointing out errors and promoting their own views can create disharmony and undermine unity within the church.
• Dismissive of preaching and biblical teaching: They may not value opportunities to learn from sermons or Bible studies, as they believe they already have a complete understanding. 

Consequences of this attitude:

• Stunted spiritual growth: An unwillingness to learn or be corrected prevents individuals from deepening their understanding and relationship with God.
• Damage to church unity: The "Know-it-all's" arrogance and criticism can create a negative environment and drive away other members.
• Missed opportunities for genuine connection and support: Their lack of patience and sympathy can isolate them from others in the church community. 

The Bible's perspective:

The Bible addresses pride and the illusion of complete knowledge, emphasizing that true wisdom comes from God. Passages such as 1 Corinthians 8:2 warn against assuming complete knowledge and highlight the importance of love in building others up. Proverbs also contrasts the "know-it-all" attitude with the wisdom of those open to learning and correction. 

In short, a religious "Know-it-all" is someone who, while possibly having some biblical knowledge, is held back by pride and a lack of humility, negatively affecting their spiritual journey and the church's well-being. 

What Mr “Know it All” Doesn’t Know

Here are some of the characteristics and consequences of an unteachable person:

Written by Erik Raymond | Friday, February 13,

 2015

Ironically, Mr Know-it-all only seems to have a lot of biblical knowledge. He can drop the 30 lb. words and effectively argue his point. Very often he is quite involved and appears to have things together. However, the fact that he is unteachable makes him dangerous in the local church and a detriment to his own spiritual health.

 

I recently asked one of our younger children to do a job that required some detailed clean-up. In the course of explaining the job as well as the steps to complete the job, I was interrupted. “I know. Dad, I know.” Everything I said was punctuated with “I know.” It was like a Baptist church hitting you with Amen’s after everything. Then I let them do it. It was a disaster. Things didn’t get put away, they actually got misplaced. Instead of the table being cleaned the floor became messy. Upon coming back to check on the situation I asked, “What happened here?” The answer, not surprisingly, “I don’t know how to do that.”

In the church we have a lot of impediments to growth in godliness. We live in a sinful world, have imperfect preachers, have trials and tribulations, and a relentless enemy who endeavors to be the stick in our spokes at every turn. But there is one great impediment to growth, this is the impediment of thinking that we already know everything. Let’s call this person “Mr Know-it-All”.

Mr Know-it-All does not really think that they have to learn anything. They are already there. They are, in effect, unteachable.

When you put a word like “unteachable” next to this I am sure you can see the problem. Christians, when thinking biblically, operate out of the realization that they actually do not know everything that they need to know. We have things to learn both intellectually and empircally. The design of the church is to provide a context where we can grow in godliness or Christian maturity. Consider Ephesians 4:

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,” (Ephesians 4:11–15)

Some quick observations on these verses: a) God provides teachers, b) teachers are to teach Scripture, c) saints need to be equipped to serve so the church is built up, d) this must go on until we all grow into Christlikeness, e) maturity is the goal that we are after.

In light of clarity of the goal (Christian Maturity), the specificity of what this is (Christlikenss), and the means by which it is attained (hearing, learning, & applying the Bible) we all (everyone, every single Christian this side of heaven) need to hear and heed the Bible.

See, what Mr Know it all doesn’t know, is that he doesn’t know it all. And this is a big problem–for him and the church where he fellowships.

Why is this such a problem? Well, in short he is not going to benefit from the ministry of the word and he is going to, by his obvious attitude, diminish its prominence in the life of the church.

In my 10 years of full-time pastoral ministry I have met Mr Know-it-all many times. I have seen him in the pulpit as well as the pew. He has different faces but he acts and looks the same. Here are some of the characteristics and consequences of an unteachable person:

• They are critical rather than constructive. It is almost like they thrive in finding out someone’s “wrong view” about something. Instead of seeing the church as a place to grow they see it as a place to show what they know. Mr Know-it-All excels in pointing out others wrongs while doing a very poor job at (ever) pointing out what is right.
• They are often short-tempered rather than long-suffering. Grace is ethereal. Because they are right and know everything they have little patience with others. You won’t often see this guy in a discipling relationship with others because they simply do not have the patience for people who are not like them. Further, when they do correct others they are harsh, belittling, and lacking gentleness.
• Talk a lot and don’t listen very much. This would make sense–why not talk (if you know it all) and why listen (if they don’t)?