Our theme for this month: “Wisdom”
Our Bible verse for today: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” 1 Corinthians 3:19 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Biblical wisdom often seems foolish from a worldly perspective.”
Biblical principles often seem to make little sense to non-Christians. That’s especially true when those principles run counter to cultural trends and politically correct thinking. Current secular thinking about the subject of homosexuality is a case in point. Romans 1:26-27 is just one of the passages in both the Old and New Testaments which make it clear that such conduct is sinful in God’s eyes. But in today’s culture a Biblical perspective on the issue is considered narrow-minded, intolerant, and caveman thinking.
The subject of money is another good example. We live in a consumer-oriented culture with a heavy emphasis on conspicuous consumption. We’e conditioned to spend all we have in order to acquire as much stuff as we can and when we run out of money, we go into debt so we can acquire more stuff. That being the case, we need every dollar we can get our hands on. So passages like Malachi 3:8-10 which instruct us to give the first 10% of all we earn to God to help finance His work here on earth, seem ridiculous. If 100% of our income isn’t enough to meet our ever-expanding desires then how in the world could we get by on 90%?
Yup, the world often views Biblical principles as foolish, ridiculous, and absurd. But that’s ok because God views worldly principles the same way. Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 3:19 that in God’s eyes it’s the wisdom of the world that is foolish – and God proves that to be true by the way. Malachi 3:10 is just one example. There God tells us that if we will obey Him in the area of tithing, give the first 10% to His work as He instructed, He in turn will open the windows of heaven and pour out so much blessing upon us that we won’t be able to take it all in. Material blessings? Maybe. But certainly spiritual blessings. Those of us who have learned to trust God in this way have learned that the old adage is true, “You can live a lot better on 90% with God’s blessing than you can on 100% without His blessing.”
Biblical wisdom seems counter-intuitive from a worldly perspective but experience proves it to be true. Whether we’re talking about how we handle our money, what lifestyle we choose to live, or any other issue we may be facing, God’s way is always the best way. Experience proves that Biblical wisdom trumps worldly wisdom every time.
God Bless,
Oak Hill Baptist Church 