(1Co 1:18-21) The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent." So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world's brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 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.
To those who think they are clever, to those who feel they know the way, one day you will look back at all your life, the struggles, striving, and even what the world would call successes, only to realize that you have missed the mark. Then what will you do? Your life will have been spent all for not and in the end you will realize the things you have spent your time and resources on will one day fade away but to those who have centered their lives on Christ Jesus they will have great joy in the end because their lives were spent on the things God has said was eternal. Though their success is not recognized now and is not seen by this world one day God will honor them before all men as He acknowledges them as His children.
(1Co 1:25-29) 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. Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, 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. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
So those who look at their success and wonder why others can’t be more like they are be warned! For it is not I that condemns you but you condemn yourselves. Do you have pride in your own abilities or do you credit your success to God’s leading? Do you have power over others? What will it take for you to recognize the warning signs God has given you? Do you really know God or do you use his name as a label you put on your accomplishments only to gain the respect of others? You will know by this – what does your prayer life look like? Do you spend time in God’s Word daily? Have you faced hardships that have guided you back to the Master or do you not receive His correction believing your easy life is blessing from God? Be careful you don’t deceive yourself as you strive to look good before others. Why does it matter what others think? Are they able to save you? If you were able to do all that they recommended would it put you in better standing with God on that terrible day?
(Heb 12:6) For the LORD disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child.
You see a child does not live out his or her young life without correction from the parents, so why do you being as a child in God’s eyes think you know the way? The parents correct the child because they love them, how much more will God correct us when we disobey and how will we know if we are being disobedient if we don’t know what God has told us? A Godly person once said, “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to McDonalds makes you a hamburger.” And it’s true so many people today believe they are in God’s will simply because they go to church but they have no personal connection with God. They put fourth no efforts on their own to seek God through prayer or study of His Word, yet they think they have the mind of Christ. This person fools themselves into a false sense of security, they may have built a successful life and if you ask them they will give partial credit to Christ but again only to gain the respect of a broader group of people – acceptance is a powerful drug. Do you find yourself reasoning that you don’t need to spend time with God because He somehow leads your steps as if by osmosis? Get this, the closer you get to God the more time you want to spend with Him. If you are finding reasons not to be alone with Him then you don’t know Him. Does the world love you for your accomplishments? If you fail then what? I know God’s love is unconditional and He is less concerned about our comfort than He is our obedience. So am I foolish to turn my back on man’s idea of success so that I may live in a way that is pleasing to my Creator? It depends on what you believe, if this life is all there is you better take what you can while you are here but if your soul is eternal and you have violated God’s law to gain something that you can’t hold on to then you have paid the ultimate price and once you cross that river your choice cannot be undone.
