1 Corinthians 3:19 states “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: He catches the wise in their craftiness”
We who have received Jesus are not necessarily the wise among men. In fact, it is actually the foolish and the weak things that are chosen by God. In that light, we should tread carefully when trying to portray ourselves as “the smart ones” to the world, since we may find ourselves missing God just as much as the unbelievers. I understand the temptation, it appears that the world would never seek the Lord if His followers are made out to be the foolish ones or “sheeple”. Yet, that is exactly what our shepherd calls us, “My sheep”, and “the foolish things of this world”. The sheep therefore should be those who boast in their weaknesses, not those who try to win arguments with wolves. Even an attempt to expose the foolishness of the world through our own wit is walking a fine line, as it is not fitting for foolish and simple babes to be mocking the wise and intelligent of the world. According to the words of God, we are His little children, infants, the weak and the lowly ones. When the wise ones call us “sheeple”, we should say “Amen! that is who I am, a sheep and a simple follower of my shepherd, whom I love and trust.”
Few are saved through the children of the Lord trying to imitate the world’s own haughtiness through clever retorts while attempting to put the wolves in their place. Showing that you can match their wit and humour might make you feel better, but it achieves nothing in terms of God’s purpose. I think Paul in 1 Corinthians 1 puts it best: “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”
So once again, I ask, how could any of these smart guys come to see that Jesus is the true God if we all look like simpletons and fools in their eyes? It is important to remember at this point that God’s ways are higher than our ways, and no single answer could fully explain how He draws men to Himself. However, it pleased God through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe. So our requirement is merely to be the foolish preachers, not to outsmart anybody. This in itself is a cross for us, a form of humiliation. But it is the least we could do for Him, given what He went through for us. That does not, however, satisfy me with an answer of how the “wise and the learned” could find God if His followers are regarded as gullible fools. There are many answers to this question, but the main answer that I will focus on today is: By their choosing to embrace honesty and what comes with it, humility. Unless men humble themselves before God in the pure and honest pursuit of the truth, they will not see Him, no matter how hard you may try to convince them. “For God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble,” and in Matthew 11, Jesus says "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.”
There have been many occasions in which I have tried to outsmart or outwit a vocal atheist online in order that I might show him up to be the one who is wrong, mostly for the sake of the other readers online, that they would be influenced by me rather than by him. Thinking that I would lead others to Christ in this way, instead, I misrepresented Him. I was a sheep throwing insults at wolves, betraying a lack of self-awareness. Following Jesus is not for those who regard themselves as intelligent in the world’s eyes. It is not for us to try to catch the wise in their craftiness, that is the work of God, and He does it in a way that is far greater than we could ever replicate ourselves.
It is necessary for us to take up our cross and follow Jesus on the path of humiliation and suffering through which all rebellion is ultimately exposed and righteously judged. God is not merely dealing with the slander of unbelievers, but mainly the slander of those who rebelled against Him before mankind was even created. As in the book of Job, we see that our obedience and refusal to slander God provides Him with the ultimate answer to Satan’s accusations against Him. We were not only created to be the bride of Christ, but also those through whom Satan is ultimately exposed and judged. As we see in Ephesians 3 “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms”. We are the means by which God shuts up the accusations and slanders of His adversary, and it is we who will ultimately be those through whom God judges Satan and the rebellious spirits who followed him. This is the cosmic court battle that God is more concerned about, and He needs our every bit of cooperation in order to win. Trying to make ourselves out to be wise in this world is contrary to that purpose. The slanders of mere men against God are much less of a concern for Him. In fact, He laughs at it. When did God ever ask us to argue this case for Him, against those at whom He is laughing? The lowly wisdom of men is foolishness to God, and He catches them out in their own craftiness. In other words, He causes their own schemes to become a trap for them. Regarding the evolution of species, for example; it does exist, but not in the way that is suggested - that there was a great leap from apes all the way to humans, leaving nothing in between. Given that there is in fact evolution that is taking place, have you ever wondered why God has made such a convenient escape hatch for those who wish to deny His existence? It catches them out in their own craftiness, leading them on a path that ends in absurdity, exposing them all to be fools before Him. (Not before us! We are not smarter than them!) You do not have to do anything yourself in this regard, He has already done it, and all those smart men who are honest with themselves can see it. Our job is to pray for them that they would not answer despair with denial, which is all too easy when your back is against the wall. Those with the courage to look at the light, instead of hiding their face from it, will find grace and mercy with the Lord.
The evil one who tempts men to be proud also accuses them and fills them with despair when that pride inevitably comes back to bite them, so that they would not have the strength to look at the light, but rather shrink back into a state of denial or self-destruction. I am personally well acquainted with the feeling of not having the strength to face the truth, as it can simply be too painful to do so. You may say that is an illogical response, but logic is far from the equation when you are in this kind of situation. I believe that many such men are in this place right now. What we need is to receive grace and mercy from the love of God, humbling ourselves to the uttermost. That is the only way out which I know of.
John MacEvilly points out that God's Lordship separates the proud from the humble both in heaven (Satan from the good angels), and on earth (the Apostles from the Pharisees and Scribes). The "little children" portion appears to be an allusion to Psalms 8:3 "Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise." Jesus contrasts the worldly choosing of those who are rich and intellectual, with God choosing the poor, ignorant and weak. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_11:25
Comments