“Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our feverish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind;
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper rev’rence praise.
“In simple trust, like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious call of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word,
Rise up and follow Thee . . . .”
Romans 1:22 struck my attention today. Paul is writing to a congregation who doesn’t know him, and he appears to be explaining his preaching of the gospel. At any rate, in a section dealing with the sinfulness of humanity and our seemingly incessant idolatry, Paul makes the following statement—“Claiming to be wise, they became morons.” Actually, modern English translations usually use the word “fools,” but the Greek verb here has at its root the source of our word “morons.” The Greek version can be translated variously as “fools, foolish, stupid, silly, insipid, or tasteless.” These words call to mind some aspects of modern Western culture, don’t they?
Seriously, I think it is highly ironic that Paul is comparing self-proclaimed wisdom to stupidity. “Professing to be sages, they became morons.” Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? We’ve all been there, proclaiming our incredible abilities far beyond those of mortal men and women. We are the best at what we do, why shouldn’t everyone consult us? We know what we’re talking about, right?
Then, in the back of our minds somewhere, we hear the sanity of God’s grace whispering, “Professing to be wise, they became fools.”
If we are honest and sane, we will admit that we did nothing to earn what we have. We are not the greatest nor the brightest, we are humans who sometimes think too highly of ourselves. We are morons. We are (or, at least, can be) fools.
Thank God for the wisdom of grace. Thank God for sanity poured out in a bludgeoned and bloody sacrifice on a cross on Calvary. Thank God for his inexpressible gift of grace through his son, Jesus Christ.
I don’t want to be a moron.
Thanks for reading!
1 comment:
Jeremiah 10:14 Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols; For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them.
Proverbs 28:26 He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered.
Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?
All verses from the NASB.
Thanks for your words. I read them and the above verses. I have to laugh (and cry) evertime I walk through the local bookstore. The shelves are filled. The words are empty. The authors have become like little gods cashing really big checks. In no time many books are on the close-out table, heavily discounted. Time to make room for the "newest" book and or author (described in the verses above).
Not all of the books on the shelves are bad. I am reminded of that everytime I look behind me in my study. God has blessed and gifted many writers. Above all my books sitting on the very top shelf in the center by it self the Holy Scriptures.
Lord you give me the heart and mind to understand and live by your word. You be the author and perfecter of faith. As your child help me embrace the reality that the worst you have to offer as a Father to your child is better than the best the world has to offer. Amen.
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