More foolishness

There's a common thread in a lot of professional writing: Trust yourself. Trust your instincts, trust your judgment, trust your experience. Go with your gut. Trust your own wisdom.

Paul gives the opposite advice at the end of 1 Cor 3. In verse 18 he tells us not to deceive ourselves. In fact, he says to be wise, you have to first become a fool.

That makes me cringe. I don't want to be a fool, and I especially don't want other folks to think I'm one (I know, too late). But scripture also says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and boy, does the world consider that foolishness.

The out-and-out atheists aren't so bad, in my book. They're wrong, but they make no attempt to disguise their position; you either buy in or you don't. That kind of worldly wisdom is obvious foolishness, and I'm not attracted by it.

The real danger is in those who cut and re-arrange the gospel until they're left with a distorted subset. Westboro Baptist Church thinks the gospel supports hate speech. Various sects in their walled compounds believe the Bible justifies polygamy and pedophilia. Relativists think scripture supports their idea that there is no absolute truth; humanists use it to worship at the altar of human potential; materialists wring prosperity theology out of the Bible.

It may be of those people who cloak their pursuit of worldly goals like bigotry and sexual perversion and selfishness and greed with the gospel that Paul writes (1 Cor 3:19-20), "For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, 'He catches the wise in their craftiness,' and again, 'The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.'"

So Paul warns, "Let no one boast in men." Beware the personality cult. Branch Davidians followed David Koresh. The Mormons and their many polygamist variants espouse the gospel of Joseph Smith. Third-Wave Pentecostals quote C. Peter Wagner. Prosperity theologists teach Kennith Hagin and E.W. Kenyon. When you find yourself defending a spiritual concept using human ideas, be careful. Remember all those folks who predicted the end of the world for this past May based on what Harold Camping said?

There's a four-step process for testing the wisdom of an idea: 1) does it conform with every part of scripture; 2) does it conform with Godly preaching; 3) does it conform with the counsel of the spiritually wise and 4) is this what the Spirit tells me in my heart when I pray? True wisdom will meet all four tests. And the world thinks each one is foolish.