“Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Corinthians 1:20 NIV84)

The toughest lesson for people is summed up in this one rhetorical question: “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” This has to be tough for those who propose a humanistic worldview that humans are the measure of all things. How foolish is it that the questioner (man) has asserted that he is also the provider of the answer. If we had the answer, wouldn’t the question be unnecessary? Everybody on the planet has a view of what the meaning of life is and how we ought to live. But what do people base that assertion on? We can think a lot of thoughts and confess a lot of beliefs, but how do we know that they are right? Today’s humanist looks back to himself and declares himself right.

Job, from the Old Testament, had a similar problem. He and his friends sought to answer the question of why he was facing the suffering that existed in his life. Job and his friends argued for chapters over what the root cause of Job’s suffering was. They each declared their case with reason and logic. But in the end they were all wrong. In the later verses of the book, Job is found putting his hands over his mouth after being silenced by God’s wisdom and truth about His suffering. Job was silenced because his reason, logic, and intellect weren’t enough to understand his suffering. He and his friends could not find the answers from within themselves. God alone had the wisdom necessary to understand the truth. God alone had the truth.

And we have a Lord Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life. May we, today and every day, trust in God’s wisdom over our own.

Peace!

Pastor Tom