Dispensary of Worldy Wisdom

Today I worked at San Diego State University and insulated a chilled water pump and piping.  The Peterson Gym is in the process of being upgraded.  On my way to wash my hands I walked through an impressive new lecture hall.  The sound-absorbing panels were being installed in a modern, bright, immaculate room.  The flooring was a mix of light hardwood and carpet, with maple wood and laminate accenting the decor.  The room sloped down like a small amphitheater with descending stairs.  There was a large area down front where the professor would stand and lecture with enormous boards set up to accommodate Power Point.  Rows and rows of long desks stretched across the room, and evenly-spaced black chairs sat vacant.  It smelled like money.  Even in a recession, business is booming.

It is like no classroom I have ever seen.  It looked more like a place the leaders of the United Nations would meet, without the microphones, pitchers of water, or enormous placards on the tables - and this room was nicer.  I mused while I worked, thinking about the room.  In my mind I compared the position of the professor to a Gospel preacher, keeping in mind there are few Gospel "professors" in the secular arena.  There the lecturer has the benefit of hundreds of young, impressionable minds with a desire to learn arriving daily on schedule.  These students pay thousands of dollars to sit in a chair to hear their teacher hold forth a lesson they are expected to learn.  Dovetailed throughout every discourse is the professor's philosophy.  The perspective of the professor could be from a God-fearing worldview or a God-rejecting one.

I did go to college, and I'm certain things haven't become more conservative since 1996!  Exploration and discovery were the philosophy of the day.  But exploration without direction causes people to quickly become disoriented and lost.  The bright lights of fleshly pursuits scatter in all directions like a firework.  As soon as a person begins the chase to follow that deceptive beacon, darkness shrouds the deceived.  If that beacon is caught, it can only injure and burn.  Worldly philosophy has removed God and placed man in His place.  Self is the new god, but self is a god as old as Satan!  Personal expression trumps truth, all authority is questioned, and doubt reigns supreme.  The only things left undoubted are the words spoken by the learned man in the front of the room.  Not every word is necessarily believed, but the constant hammering no doubt makes a permanent mark on a mind.  The words of Christ may be applicable to many of those misleading atheistic or agnostic professors, "They know not what they do" while they willfully lead youth away from God.  But many of them know only too well what they are doing.  They are dispensers of worldly wisdom, and they revel in their role.  This wisdom is contrary to God's wisdom from above and is sinking sand.

In the same way that I love to preach the Word of God, many love to hold forth the wisdom of man.  James 3:13-18 says this about God's wisdom:  "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. [14] But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. [15] This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. [16] For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. [17] But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. [18] Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."  Pride, envy, boasting, self-seeking, lies, and confusion are marks of earthly wisdom.  The wisdom which comes from above is a stark contrast to earthly wisdom because purity, peace, gentleness, grace, and mercy adorn it.

Some have this idea education is the cure for all ills, or will at least alleviate them.  This is ironic, seeing as there is more information and education today than ever before, yet our problems are astronomical!  George Washington never had to deal with oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico or lax Border Security!  Andrew Jackson wasn't concerned about Power Point presentations, mobile internet connections, cell phone bills, or even hiring a plumber!  Abraham Lincoln never had to deal with identity theft, Social Security numbers, or the DMV.  Though many breakthroughs have been made in medicine and technology in the last 2000 years, one person has stayed exactly the same:  Jesus Christ.  He is the Prince of Peace.  There is a man who is ever learning but never comes  to the knowledge of the truth.  We need more than information:  we need a relationship with our Creator and Savior.  We need righteousness and forgiveness.  All the facts in the world pale in comparison to the knowledge which flows from knowing God in the beauty of His holiness.

May the church never be a place where worldly wisdom is found.  We are to preach Christ.  When we preach Him, we will preach TRUE wisdom.  We do not glory in what we know, but who we know and are known by:  1 Cor. 1:30-31 states, "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption-- [31] that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord."