The Wise from the Fools.
There is a phrase in this weekend’s text (Romans 1:18-25 - see below) that says, “Claiming to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22). That is the whole verse and it points out something interesting that may be one of our biggest challenges today: There is a constant claim for the status of “wise.” What might that look like in our world today? How can we be aware of this danger and how do we avoid “pretending” to be wise?
Proverbs reminds us that the “fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10) or the starting point for wisdom. There is our clue for answering all three questions from the paragraph above. If we don’t start with a true fear of the Lord, which means an awe and respect for His holiness, His power, His justice, His love, His amazing kindnesses, etc. then we are not accessing wisdom. We remain in the hopeless category of fools.
If we do access the “fear of the Lord” then this means that we can address any of the prominent figures in our world today who claim their place of “wisdom” such as Romans 1:22 emphasizes. We need to be able to assess if we are the wise fools and we also need to be aware of others who claim to be wise so that we don’t fall prey to their unbiblical stance.
How can we check to see if wisdom is a part of their repertoire? If someone pretends to be a believer, can they truly “fear the Lord?” We’ve seen many leadership candidates feign religiosity when it buys votes; but does that secure a person for wisdom? I think not. If an individual makes claims that they are the standard for a profession, whether academic, health related, athletic, or more, then that should be a red flag for us. They are claiming to be wise.
Instead, the wisest among us may be the person or persons who remain in the background, deeply embedded in a tattered old Bible with well marked pages. That person recognizes their position as a creature - they “fear the Lord.” They are a human creature - created by God in love. But they are still created. This means that this creature will need to explore the reason for God creating their trio of flesh, mind and spirit. In other words, do you know why you were created?
A person of this world’s natural theology will adopt a self-centered and even narcissistic stance. Make note of them. They claim to be wise but are really fools. Don’t let your mind and your emotions get caught up in them; Psalm one tells us to avoid the “counsel of the wicked.” So we learn to discern the wise from the fools and walk away from them. That discernment is part of being a believer.
But in walking away from fools and foolishness, we need to walk toward the one who embodies wisdom: Jesus. Our study of wisdom could not be complete unless we turn to the one who is the embodiment of the fear of the Lord: the Word of God incarnate. He is the one described by John as being fully God, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). He is the Word; He is proved to be wise by His actions (Matthew 11:19). May your life be filled with wisdom. May you humble yourself to seek the true wisdom that comes from God and not the wisdom of self-aggrandizement.
Scripture states, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen” (Romans 1:18-25).