A Smart Man – A
Brilliant Man
It might shock my readers that I have some friends who are
smart and a few who might even be called brilliant. When I think of someone being smart these adjectives
come to mind; clever, keen, smooth,
witty, and quick, but when someone uses the term brilliant my mind goes to extremely
bright, very talented, one who has the ability to dazzle others in his or her
subject matter. Note: But even those we call smart and brilliant
are ignorant in many areas of life, as is common to man. Only God is all knowing, Isaiah 55:8-9!
As a person who never finished college, and was voted most
likely not to succeed by his own parents and friends; I will never be branded
with the title smart or brilliant, but I have the mind of Christ, and so do you
if you are in Christ. Now I do not make
that statement because of some degree plan, nor great accomplishment of my own
doing, but from the authority of Scripture.
The apostle Paul writing to the church in Corinth, to those sanctified
in Christ, had the following to say to them and us; “The
natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are
folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually
discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is
himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?” But we have
the mind of Christ.”
If you are in Christ you have the mind of Christ, but you
also have a brain, and we understand that having and using can be as far as the
east is from the west. So how can we
know when we are not using the “mind of Christ”? When we put self before others, an are unkind,
are envious, are boastful, are prideful, then it is clear that we are not using
the mind of Christ. For the mind of
Christ is patient, and never insists on its own way, and never rejoices at
wrongdoing. The mind of Christ always
wants the best for others and loves unconditionally, even those who have wronged
Him.
After reading this to my wife and editor, she ask that I
also state that when using the mind of Christ, Scripture will guide your
thoughts, words, and actions. Psalm
119:11 says, “I
have stored up your Word in my heart, that I might not sin
against You.”
So how can a man be called smart or brilliant if they do not
understand Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts
are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” I’ve come to this
understanding, that education, and talent, can be of great value, but also can
be a curse, because any person, who does not operate in life with Godly wisdom,
cannot be smart or brilliant. The
prophet Isaiah spoke to such men, “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in
their own sight!”(Isaiah 5:21) For a
man to believe that he understands the thoughts or ways of God that have not
been revealed in Scripture, is a stupid man, not smart, nor brilliant! But a man with the mind of Christ can understand
the authority of Scripture and do as is proclaimed in Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things
belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us
and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
I
also have met many in the world who claimed to be smart or brilliant, but who
God calls a fool, as for me, I do not mind being called a fool by such men, as
long as God calls me His son.
From
the Back Porch,
Bob
Rice
No comments:
Post a Comment