The Wisdom Of God Is Foolishness To Man

Through the years I have had the pleasure of rubbing shoulders with noticeably wise people. I have learned from some while experiencing intimidation by others. Their wisdom, however, doesn’t hold a candle to the wisdom of God.

Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. 1 Corinthians 3:18-19

What did the Apostle Paul mean when he said we need to become a fool to be truly wise? We must first look at this from the world’s point of view to understand what he was saying.

Prior to this writing, a gunman entered a church service in Texas killing many people. A few days later on a news talk show, the host criticized Christians.

She was tired of hearing people say they were praying for the grieving families. Her reasoning was that prayer doesn’t change anything. Therefore it is foolish to pray.

That’s exactly God’s message to us in our verse for today. To many, it is foolish to pray because prayer isn’t a part of the world’s standards.

We tend to get upset with the world because of the way they act and the things they say. But shouldn’t we expect the world to act “worldly?” Paul said this in 1 Corinthians 1.

But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:24

The World will Reject God’s Wisdom

The world will never accept the wisdom of God. The prince of this world, the devil, will make sure that God’s plan always looks like foolishness.

Paul went on to say the following.

This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength. 1 Corinthians 1:25

Therefore, we can’t compromise our convictions to the way the world thinks. And we shouldn’t expect the world to understand the way Christians think.

You see, God drew a line in the sand when he said this in His word.

Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 1 Corinthians 1:21

He went on to say that it’s foolish to the Jews because they ask for signs from heaven. And it was foolish to the Greeks because they seek human wisdom.

So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. 1 Corinthians 1:23

Now, most of you who are reading this are probably considered nothing more than regular folks in society. Even though that former statement sounded bad, it’s not.

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 1 Corinthians 1:26

The Unexpected Results of the Wisdom of God

Regular folks like us would never expect an invitation to a palace or a billionaire’s home. That would be foolishness.

We would never be asked to sit in on a national security meeting. That too would be foolishness. God’s thinking, however, is much different than the world’s thinking.

God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 1 Corinthians 1:27

Successful goals set forth by the world’s standards include power and prestige. And recognized accomplishments are built around wealth and esteem.

Power and prestige along with wealth and esteem are not goals in the kingdom of God. God’s kingdom focuses on a different set of values.

God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 1 Corinthians 1:30

We Must Make a Choice

I mentioned earlier about the line God drew in the sand. Which side will you stand on?

The goals and wisdom of the world? Or the wisdom of God which is viewed as foolishness by the world.

Check out this related post called Why Question God, He Is The Lord.

Maybe we should review our verse for the day before making that decision.

Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. 1 Corinthians 3:18-19

Lord, thank you for offering your son Jesus, who is the power of God and the wisdom of God. We accept.

You will find 1 Corinthians 3 interesting to read.