I thought a great deal about this title today because the idea of the “Wisdom of the World” continues to bother me. I am speaking directly about wisdom today and not knowledge…and before you ask me, here is the distinction between the two.
The primary difference between wisdom and knowledge is that wisdom involves a healthy dose of perspective and the ability to make sound judgments about a subject while knowledge is simply knowing.
From my vantage point, wisdom comes from age and life experience, whereas knowledge…well, we have all encountered a REALLY smart person who has never done anything in their life. Maybe book smart versus street smart?
Why do I make this distinction? Because worldly wisdom puts a great deal of effort into ensuring you understand that you are in charge of yourself. And YOU, are the only one that can be, “all you can be” and to just work harder so YOU can achieve all YOU were meant to. You should be a self-starter, self-sufficient, self-driven, self-disciplined, and altogether 100% self-dependent on yourself. That is the Wisdom of the World.
Human self-sufficiency. Human self-indulgence.
Moreover, we are told that if we follow the blue-print above, we will achieve the apex of living which includes happiness and success. The irony for me is that the richest, certainly smartest, and most self-sufficient human being who ever lived on this earth, Solomon, said this about worldly wisdom.
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. Ecclesiastes 2:10-11
You see, when a wisdom that excludes God, and only emphasizes human self-sufficiency and makes humanity its highest authority…well, that wisdom God calls foolishness. Why? Because through the wisdom of the world, humans have failed to find the truth or come to know the Creator.
It truly is meaningless.
Does any of this sound familiar? Who do you think is behind the Wisdom of the World? Who is the prince of this earth right now? Yes, Satan. That is why Worldly Wisdom makes no sense to believers and the message of the cross is difficult for unbelievers. The Apostle Paul said this:
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18
Guys, if you only hear one thing I say today, hear this; Worldly wisdom leads to YOUR softness, which leads to YOUR moral collapse which leads to YOUR spiritual decline. And that is exactly where the evil one wants you.
I encourage you to watch and listen. You will be able to discern which wisdom you are hearing.
Until next time Guys-
