Doorway to wisdom is humility ~ 1 Corinthians 1.26-31

Doorway to wisdom is humility
Brothers, just look at the way in which you have been called. You can see at once that not many wise men—by human standards—not many powerful men, not many high-born men have been called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise men; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the strong things; and God has chosen the ignoble and the despised things of the world, yes, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things which are; and he did this so that no human being might be able to boast in the sight of God. It is through him that we are in Christ Jesus, who for us, by God, was made wisdom and righteousness and consecration and deliverance, so that what stands written might come true in us. Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 1.26-31

Good Day~
Paul says to his fellow Christian brothers, ‘hey, look around—you people aren’t that impressive . . . I mean, not too many of you are really intelligent, powerful, or of prestigious birth, are you?’ At that point, they may have looked at one another, and realized that they were a pretty simple people. There was a reason for that--the message of the gospel is simple, and folks must be willing to humble themselves to grab a hold of it. It is easy for the one who is low in stature to see his need; whereas, the ‘well-to-do are often not likely to sense any need for God because they believe they can buy or manipulate their way into meeting all their needs’1

Just so the sophisticated folks in Corinth were not too interested in the gospel message. They didn’t really feel like they needed much to do with salvation through some no-count Jew from Nazareth. The Greeks were looking for God in a philosophical system, and they would more likely go for someone with flowery rhetoric. Plutarch, (first-century Greek historian) said, ‘they made their voices sweet with musical cadences and modulations of tone and echoed resonances.’ And further, “The Greeks were intoxicated with fine words; and, to them, a Christian preacher with a blunt message seemed a crude and uncultured figure, to be laughed at and ridiculed rather than to be listened to and respected.”2 Ah….human wisdom—human thinking.

What does human wisdom today look like? If people were honest, they would say it is characterized by: pride, (or should we say healthy self-esteem?), maturity, success, money, position, intelligence, being ‘in the know’, awareness of pop culture, ability to maneuver cleverly in society, even good looks, clever vocabulary, and knowledge. Human wisdom is limited by our finite minds and perspectives and subject to the influences of culture.

God’s value system is just so different; in fact, you might notice that his wisdom seems to be diametrically opposed to the wisdom of man. The writer of Proverbs penned, ‘For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.’3 And Paul tells us that God made Jesus Christ wisdom. What did Paul mean by that? Jesus himself epitomized God’s wisdom in his character—pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere—happens to be the same list James gave as description of wisdom.4 What Jesus came to do became the standard for wisdom. Jesus came to make a way for us to be made righteous in him, and he did it by humbling himself completely. First, ‘he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave…and he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death…even death on a cross.’5
The doorway to wisdom is humility.

True wisdom must emanate from God because only he is perfect. And here’s the kicker—if we ask him for it, he will give it to us!6 This is yet another reason to start your day off in prayer. Consider this: as I am writing my prayer, after I have spent some time letting God ‘search me and know me’7, and confessing my sin, I ask God for wisdom. Sometimes, I even take a sticky note and write the meetings and responsibilities of the day, and ask God for specific wisdom. Occasionally, right then, I get a keen, inspired thought that is beneficial to the day.

God loves to give us his wisdom if we but ask for it.
Why don’t you ask for it today?

Christine

Podcast: www.pastorwoman.com


1 The Two Kingdoms: The Church and Culture through the Ages, Robert Clouse, et. al
2 William Barclay, The Letters to the Corinthians
3 Proverbs 2.6
4 James 3.17
5 Philippians 2.7,8
6 James 1.5
7 Psalm 139.23