Too Smart For Their Own Good

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (ESV)
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

Being a graduate of seminary I have come across many individuals who are "smart" by any standard. Many of them are professors and some of them were students. They desired knowledge of God and His Word and in the process of learning over the years they became too smart for their own good. They over analyzed and in so doing sought more complicated answers to very simple questions. Many of us know people like that.

The world and our society is the same way. They seek answers from learned people and take them at their word without much scrutiny. Evolution has been accepted as a viable start to the universe and many Christians have been brought along side in agreement. Take a look at any basic understanding of Evolution and you will see that it goes completely against what scripture teaches. Frank Switzer from Phoenix, AZ has commented that over the years people have "found" the missing link when in reality they haven't or have faked it to create the missing link. Now, why would you have to fake something if your theory is true?

Now, let's take it into the realm of salvation. The world says that we are god and when we die either we vanish into nothingness or we go to a place that we believe exists. This is why the world scoffs at the notion that God came to earth, died for our sins, made his glory known through murderers, fisherman, and common folk, and by putting our faith and trust in him we too can receive eternal life.

In seminary I learned through experience that sometimes the simple answer is the right, true answer. Don't make it too complicated. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul is talking about how God has used the simple people of the world to reveal his glory and preach his truth. What a comfort to know that our effectiveness in preaching the Gospel to the world is not dependent upon my intellectual knowledge. Yes, we need to and should continue to further our understanding of God, but people coming to belief in Christ is not dependent upon my special words of wisdom. God's glory is revealed through me, despite me. And thank goodness for that.