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.
amen.
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