Do not deceive
yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age,
he should become a fool so that he may become wise.
1 Corinthians 3:18
Socrates once said,
"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." We are charged today through this verse penned
by Paul to remain humble… In the world that we live in it is very easy to
become so entrapped with pride, ego and self righteousness; however, the call
of all Christians is to rise above the standards of this world by taking the
path least traveled… It’s human nature to want to be the best and showcase your
talents; the biggest factor in doing that is the way in which you go about it…
The bible is clear about boasting and even tells us that “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty
spirit before a fall.…” The higher you are on
yourself the further you will fall when you are humbled… I don’t know about
you, but my fear of heights and falling keeps me close to the ground… This
letter written to the church of Corinth by the Apostle Paul
reminds us that we must not think higher of ourselves than we ought. Paul tells
the church of Corinth at the very
beginning of this verse “Do not deceive
yourselves…” Paul says this because
the church had lost sight of God and focused on their material wealth and
stature. Remember what happen with Eve in the garden, Satan told her that
she wouldn't die, but he also appealed to her mental makeup in
declaring that if she ate the fruit she would “…be like God, knowing good and evil…” This same appeal to the human nature of
desiring power and elevation is present in our day and age which is why Paul
says “If any one of you thinks he is wise by the
standards of this age…” God is bigger than
this world, we don’t have the full picture and it’s time that we understand
that true wisdom is God and comes from Him… You can receive all the schooling
you want (just like Paul), but you will not travel the road that God
has for you until you are humbled before Him… Not only is pride something that we all have and must deal with;
kin to that, we must be able to abase ourselves in this world… It’s hard enough
to fight pride; it’s even harder to bring yourself down to a low position… We
declare today that we are co-heirs with Christ and this is true through the
sacrifice He made on Calvary, but it’s also
true through the humbleness displayed by Him while He walked this earth…
Remember Christ stated very clearly that He came “…not to be served but to serve…” This is the Most High, the King of Kings;
however He came to serve and even wash the very feet of mankind… Today let us
take note of the things which Christ demonstrated for us and take pride in
serving others… Serving is a humbling task, when you serve you are subject to
feeling inferior (a severe battle of the mind which keeps us from accepting
such a position), you are subject to being cast down and mistreated; however,
in your weakness God’s power is made perfect… Through your humility you are
being strengthened, through your submission you are becoming victorious and
this is what will lead to wisdom… Paul says, “…he should become a fool so that he may become wise…” A person who is wise in their own eyes will
never see the errors of their ways… They will never admit to needing help;
however a fool is a silly, deceived person whose mental makeup isn’t as strong
so they are easily enticed or mislead… In becoming a fool we aren’t beyond
reach, we aren’t beyond understanding the truth path… The book of Proverbs
tells us “Do you see a man wise
in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” Don’t think that you need the approval of man
on this earth; don’t believe for a second that you can do it on your own… As a
child of God we must be humble, knowing and understanding that it is only
through God’s gift of His son that we can live and have our being. Jesus told
the disciples that the greatest among you is servant to all, let us
remember that to be low is high and to be humble is greatness, to be last is to
be first… That is why Paul says
you should become a fool so that you are wise.
GO ALL IN FOR CHRIST!
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