Get Understanding
“No man’s knowledge,” said John Locke, “can go beyond his experience.”[1] Knowledge, is of course, valuable. But as we seek not only to learn—but to apply what we learn—we obtain experience. And lived experience leads to the priceless gift of true understanding.
The book of Proverbs teaches the importance of this principle: “With all thy getting, get understanding.”[2]
When we seek to understand, we can more readily relate to another person, another culture, another way of doing things. We more easily see patterns and principles that expand our ability to learn. And not only do we become better learners—we also become better teachers.
I once observed an experienced corporate financial officer describe a complex accounting matter to a group. I marveled as he explained it in less than ninety seconds. Entire articles had been written to explain the same idea—yet here was this man, teaching in plain words, in a way all could understand.
True understanding helps the complex become simple. But there is nothing simple about the work required to gain it.
I have a friend who struggled for years with learning. It was difficult for him to focus, and dyslexia made reading and studying a challenge. He fell behind his classmates, and though he graduated, he did so near the bottom of his class.
He went to work in a fast-paced, demanding industry. One day, exhausted from years of not feeling capable, he determined to do something about it. He set a goal to listen to audiobooks each day—studying everything from business to human relations to political science, even chiropterology—the study of bats! For nearly five years, he listened three hours a day. And for more than a decade since, he’s continued the habit—at least one hour every day.
As the hours and years passed, he applied what he was learning to his daily life—turning knowledge into experience, and experience into understanding.
The price my friend paid to “get understanding” paid off. He learned how to succeed in what matters most—love in his home, connection with God, and confidence in himself.
The process of gaining understanding does more than increase knowledge. The understanding that comes through experience stays with us—it changes us, it teaches us, and it guides us along life’s journey.
[1] See An Essary Concerning Human Understanding, (1690) bk. 2, ch. 1m sect 19.
[2] Proverbs 4:7.
June 07, 2026
Broadcast Number 5,047
The Tabernacle Choir
Orchestra at Tempe Square
Conductor
Mack Wilberg
Organist
Andrew Unsworth
Host
Derrick Porter
In Hymns of Praise
Alfred Beirly, arr. Mack Wilberg
We Thank Thee, Lord, for This New Day
Mack Wilberg
Give Glory to His Honored Name, from Athalia
George Frideric Handel
Finale, from Symphony no. 6
Charles-Marie Widor
This Is My Father’s World
Franklin L. Sheppard, arr. Mack Wilberg
Hold On, from The Secret Garden
Lucy Simon, arr. Ryan Murphy
O God Beyond All Praising
Gustav Holst, arr. Mack Wilberg