Thursday, May 8, 2025

          Most of us would agree that wisdom and foolishness are opposites.  A wise man is not thought to be a fool.  And a foolish man is not thought to be wise.  In the opening chapters of I Corinthians, Paul wrote about the wisdom of the world and the perceived “foolishness” of God and the gospel.  He wrote, “Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength” (1 Corinthians 1:22-25).  Paul noted that the world, in general, will look at the cross and crucifixion of Jesus and call it foolishness.  It will be demeaned, devalued and misunderstood.  But this thought to be “foolishness” of God is the world’s only hope for salvation, forgiveness and reconciliation with God.  There is no other way.  What the world calls foolish is God’s power to save. 
            The wisdom of the world would suggest that good works, technology, charitable living, practicing any religion would be ways to earn the favor and approval of God.  The world’s wisdom essentially leaves everything in human hands.  There is an exalted sense of human capacity and potential to convince God to welcome and save all of us through some earned merit or favor.  The cross, resurrection and even Christ are often treated as little more than warm stories or Middle Eastern mythology.  But what the world dismisses as foolishness is the very wisdom of God at work to save and redeem lives from sin and Satan.  The world deceives itself by thinking it has the capacity to renew, redeem and save itself.  The world would prefer to replace the God of the Bible—the maker of all things—with an ever-evolving, ever-improving version of itself. 
            Paul seemed to have a little fun at the expense of the world’s wisdom and strength.  He concluded that any “foolishness” from God is superior to the world’s highest and best wisdom.  Likewise, any “weakness” from God is greater than the world’s highest strength and accomplishments.  Of course, as Paul noted tongue-in-cheek, there is neither foolishness nor weakness in the Lord.  When it comes to salvation and how to live an excellent and commendable life, we are left with God’s ways or the ways of the world.  We are left to trust Christ and His cross or our best efforts at trying to be righteous.  The Bible warns us that there is no one righteous—no not one.  There is no one who seeks God by his own power (see Romans 3:10-12).  And God has concluded that the wisdom of this world is foolishness in His sight (1 Corinthians 3:19). 
            Paul later wrote in Romans that although the world claims to be wise, it is nothing more than fools (Romans 1:22).  Why fools?  Well, Romans 1:21 says the world is comprised of fools because it has ignored God, neglected God, failed to glorify God and refused to offer thanks to God.  Thus, these follies have left the world with dark hearts and foolish minds.  Today, we want to see the cross as the triumph of Christ over the kingdoms of this world and the powers of death, the grave and Satan.  While some might write off the cross as foolishness, we hold to it as the embodiment of God’s wisdom, grace and power to save.  Have a great Thursday!