You might read this article and think that the writer must be some bombastic jerk full of pride. Where do I get off judging wisdom? How can I possibly know that most people lack it? Do I have wisdom in such abundance that I am able to make this blanket statement about the rest of humanity?
In reality, I am not the one judging human wisdom. Under the authority of the inspiration of Scriptures, I am confident to make this pronouncement. Paul makes it very clear in 1 Corinthians that the world sees the cross of Christ as foolishness and that the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of man (1 Cor 1:25). In other words, the wisest sage in human history will not even scratch the surface of wisdom when ranked against the omniscience of the God of the universe.
If this is the case, how can any human claim to have any wisdom at all. Our claim of wisdom can only come through adopting the wisdom of God. Unfortunately, most people reject Christ and are not interested in the truth of the gospel that sets us free. The fact that the remnant of God’s people in this world is small in comparison to the entire world population tells us that most people reject God’s wisdom. Most people are not wise. Wisdom comes through the illuminating, regenerating work of the Holy Spirit through the gospel of Christ. It compels us to look to God’s revelation for understanding and navigating this world.
In Ecclesiastes 8, the first verse starts with these words. “Who is like the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a thing?” Wisdom in this world is not easy to find, let alone someone who can give wise counsel to help understand and navigate the big problems of life. To ask who is like the wise is almost the same as saying, who knows everything to the degree that we can truly be confident in what they say?
If you find such a person, you have found a Christian who has had the illuminating effects of the gospel in their life. You have found someone who has now realized that in themselves is no wisdom and their complete reliance for truth is found in revelation from God who has infinite knowledge, can never be wrong, and is morally perfect in character. You have found in someone who finds and enjoys wisdom from God.
Unfortunately, in this world, many Christians want to hold on to the prideful false wisdom of mankind. Some trust in human reason more than God’s revelation. That’s why many Christians have been captivated by humanistic philosophies of psychology, psychiatry and evolution, and have even attempted to insert this thinking into the bible. The Apostle Paul and King Solomon would both say that when human thought invades the infallible, inerrant word of God, it no longer is the word of God and becomes corrupted and errant.
Confidence in wisdom comes from one source alone. It’s time for believers to stand on the authority of the bible and claim true wisdom for the sake of pointing this world to the only illuminating truth that saves. The only truth of true freedom and joy.