During this election, many worldly people scoff at Christians. Bad propositions and unjust politicians are up for vote, and Christians who oppose them receive the world’s scorn as it calls us fools, intolerant, bigots, and any other bad name they can think of. But remember God’s perfect plan, because His wisdom will prevail. Now please enjoy this week’s post.
Both the world and God promise to lead us in wisdom, but only one of those two wisdoms leads to life. The world offers advanced degrees, prestige, money, power and popularity to those who follow its wisdom. God’s wisdom promises peace with God, but also a difficult life with persecution, because the world hates those who follow God’s wisdom. Yet it is the hard life with God’s wisdom that leads to life. Let’s look at three godly men who had access to the world’s wisdom and God’s wisdom and see what happened in their lives.
Stephen described the life of Moses in the seventh chapter of Acts. Verse 22 says, “Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in both speech and action.” With Egypt’s wisdom, Moses was raised in a palace and supported by the secular world. Moses was popular with the ungodly when he followed the world’s wisdom. Yet in the next verses, we see what Moses did with this wisdom. Verse 24-25 says, “He saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite. So Moses came to the man’s defense and avenged him, killing the Egyptian. Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t.” The Israelites realized Moses’ idea of wisdom was untrustworthy, because he killed another man. This was the fruit of a life filled with the world’s wisdom, and the next day Moses saw what the godly Israelites thought of this wisdom. Two Israelites were fighting and Moses tried to stop them. Verse 27-28 says, “But the man in the wrong pushed Moses aside. ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ he asked. Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?” Men more godly than Moses, (Israelites who had God’s promise from the Abraham Covenant), knew Moses’ “wisdom,” was evil. The best of Egypt’s teaching could not give Moses enough wisdom to not murder a man. In this case, Egypt’s secular “wisdom” only taught Moses to arrogantly assume leadership that was not his and to destroy someone’s life.
But Moses was not the only man Stephan described in Acts chapter seven. He also described the life of Joseph (son of Jacob.) Verse 10b says, “And God gave him favor before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God also gave Joseph unusual wisdom so that Pharaoh appointed him governor over all of Egypt and put him in charge of the palace.” God’s wisdom led in a very different direction than Moses’ Egyptian wisdom. In Genesis we also learn that Joseph’s brothers had a worldly wisdom, and they despised and abused Joseph. Look at what Joseph later told his brothers in Genesis 45:5b -6, “It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors.” God’s wisdom saved Joseph, the Egyptians, and the entire extended family of Jacob (Israel.)
Ironically, Stephen himself was full of God’s wisdom and life, yet those who only had the world’s wisdom opposed Stephen. Look at Acts 6:8-9a, “Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Salves, as it was called, started to debate with him.” These men of the Synagogue opposed Jesus’ teaching, and the next verse shows their wisdom (secular) was not as powerful as Stephen’s, “None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.” The men of this Synagogue did not perform any miraculous healings like Stephen had done. While Stephen was bringing about life for the sick, who needed miracles, these men offered no such life. What did they do? Acts 7:57b-58a says, “They rushed him, and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.” These men, with the world’s wisdom, killed an innocent man who had been bringing life to so many. Yet even as Stephen died, he blessed others, as verse 60 says, “He fell to his knees, shouting, ‘Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!’ and with that, he died.”
Looking at Moses again, only while he followed Egypt’s worldly wisdom, was Moses popular. Once Moses turned from this wisdom, Egypt opposed him, while the godly began to follow him. In Exodus 5:2b Pharaoh refuted Moses’ request to let the Israelites make sacrifices outside the country. Pharaoh said, “I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.” Pharaoh opposed Moses over eleven times, even pursuing the Israelites after letting them go. Pharaoh’s opposition of God led to his own death and the death of his army when God allowed the Red Sea to dry for the Israelites, but to drown the Egyptians. Pharaoh’s wisdom only brought about death. Yet after that, the Israelites did follow Moses, although often rebelling too.
Over and over the world promises us success and life if we follow its idea of wisdom. Yet God says, “There is a way that seems right to man, buts its end is the way of death,” (Proverbs 14:12.) Isaiah 29:14b adds, “The wisdom of the wise will perish; the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.” Paul agrees with this in 1 Cor.1:20, “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.” Human wisdom claims to offer life, yet by opposing God’s wisdom, leads to death. Over and over we see this, whether in politics with the unjust politicians promoting laws that kill babies and sterilize children to our world’s “best ideas” leaving people feeling so empty some commit suicide. The world’s wisdom leads to confusion and sorrow, even while God’s wisdom leads to peace of mind in this life and eternal life with God later. In John 14:27 Jesus promised, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
As we face an angry election, please remember that even when the world scorns true Christians who follow God’s wisdom, that scorning and grief will only last in this life. The world has always hated God, which Jesus confirms in Matt.10:22, “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.” No unbeliever has that assurance of eternal life (although God wants all of them to repent so they can have it.) So please rest assured that as you pursue God’s wisdom, even as persecution comes with it (as Joseph, Moses and Stephen suffered,) God’s way is the best and leads to peace and joy. And if you have neighbors, colleagues, friends or family members who oppose you, because you follow God’s wisdom, you will prevail at the Judgment Day, but they will fail. So while they mock you for how you vote, or for how you live, their popularity with the masses is temporary. Privately pray for God to convict them so they repent, because they may not listen to us. Keep loving them, because they don’t really understand God’s love while they follow the world’s wisdom. The Apostle Paul used to be called the Pharisee Saul, and he was one of those who persecuted Stephen. Some of those who live by the world’s wisdom will one day repent. At times we can fast as we pray for them. Then we can rest in the peace of God, which the worldly don’t have.
I pray we have blessed you with this week’s post. Next week I will resume my study of the “Imposter Syndrome,” which I introduced last week. I wanted to write this post, due to the election that will occur the day after this is posted.