The Enemy in the Camp Part 13: Lack of Wisdom
Throughout the history of man, the lack of wisdom and the lack of seeking it has been our folly. Often it is not until we find ourselves in a state of utter calamity that we even begin to seek wisdom, rather than making it our continual purpose.
There is no doubt that mankind has, in many cases, sought knowledge, and we have gained much in the process. It is clear to me that the pursuit of knowledge rather than wisdom, be it because of impatience or shallow satisfaction, results in opinion instead of truth.
Allow me this hypothetical: if man had gained the knowledge that what we refer to as antibiotics killed bacteria but lacked the wisdom that bacteria was the cause of infection, then that lack of understanding would render the knowledge of antibiotics useless.
The lack of wisdom, or understanding if you prefer, robs knowledge of its usefulness. The frivolity of mankind is becoming opinionated in areas in which we lack wisdom. Don’t get me wrong—opinions are useful if they are based on wisdom of knowledge, but opinion without wisdom divides.
The Word of God tells us in Proverbs 3: 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight paths. As I said, opinion without wisdom divides, even to the detriment of common sense.
I have heard adults argue their opinion in subjects as silly as their preference between comics and comic book characters and get angry that anyone disagrees with them. Our uneducated and wisdomless opinions are as useless as an ornament on a shelf; it serves no purpose other than the pleasure of our own preference.
The more choices and complexity available, the more opinions we find in others. It really has no importance whether someone prefers xyz car, motorcycle, color, etc. Preference is choice, but armchair opinion is useless.
When opinion is based on frivolity in our spiritual lives, it becomes dangerous and serves to destroy and tear down, rather than strengthen and build up. Countless times, when speaking to professing Christians, I have heard many say things like, “Well, that’s just who/how I am.” This is a very dangerous and condemning statement indeed. 2 Corinthians 5: 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Those professing their stubbornness toward changing when they are wrong are in fact ensuring their condemnation. Please allow me to share a bit of my life with you: When I reflect on my life before my salvation, I despise that person, and I despise the man I was when I was backslid, too. I cannot even remotely relate how thankful I am to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the blessing of becoming a new creature.
In my mind, I can’t comprehend a worse crime against the soul than being steadfast in stubbornness against surrendering oneself and seeking to become a new creature in Christ. I think this example is the ultimate lack of wisdom and intentional foolishness. As I have said many times, a man is the master of his own demise.
I want to share something with you. This past week there has been devastating flooding in the great state of Texas and many lives were lost, along with homes and livelihoods. Yesterday, a dear friend sent me a short story of a young woman who was temporarily living in an RV while working away from her home.
In preparation for the flood, she evacuated and left the RV to seek shelter. The RV was washed away and torn to pieces. As the flood waters receded, she returned to search for belongings and assess the damage. The only thing this young lady found was her Bible. For many, this would not seem the least bit profound when in reality its significance is beyond the wisdom of many.
The one thing—the most important thing—that remained was the Word of God. She had lost all her earthly belongings, but the Word remained; once again she found the Word. The apostle John said in the first verse of the first chapter of John, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” In the midst of great loss and devastation, she found the Word!
Our Lord Jesus is the living Word, and I know this: if this young woman will cling to the Word and cry out to the Lord, all those earthly things that she lost will seem far less important and even return far easier than they came the first time. Matthew 7: 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” I pray that this young woman cries out to the Lord and seeks His face, praising his Holy name in understanding of the blessing she was given in finding that Bible.
The question and test for us all is, if we were to lose our earthly possessions, would we have a heart that would praise God in the midst of tragedy? The answer to that, my Brother and Sister, shows the depth of our wisdom!
“We can’t be filled with the Spirit and with ourselves at the same time.”
-David Jeremiah
Kenneth Kellar
A Man Called by God to Teach and Disciple