THE FOOLISH THINGS OF GOD

“For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.” (Ecclesiastes 1:18)

Mankind is exploring the moon when it has serious insurmountable difficulties to deal with in its backyard. When God created the earth God requested Adam to dominate (subdue) the earth where He had placed him. That instruction put a large chunk on his plate to keep him occupied. Unfortunately, humanity is reaching out to projects of prestige.

The world is ridden with poverty, hunger, cruelty and wickedness, war-mongering and ‘loose’ living. The world knows no peace. World bodies have failed to bring the much-needed relief to palliate the multiple threats to life on the planet. All of this is compounded with hate crimes and racism. Everyone is fending for himself, herself and family. Rarely do people think of the common good nowadays.

Lust and selfishness have become strongholds in the social fabric and determine the kind of relationships we knit. Little regard is given to the person of God and His Word. People have consciously and deliberately discarded God and in fact have silenced Him in having a say in their daily occupations. To add insult to injury, politics and politicians sway tendencies in favour of their own agendas. Our Lord Jesus admonishes: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15)

The claim that we live in a better world mirrors how far afield we are from accomplishing God’s will and design for this world and the destiny for our lives. The Bible sums this up in the words of the Apostle Paul: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. “As it is written: ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness;’ and again the Lord knows that the ways of the wise are futile.” (1 Corinthians 3:19-20)

The world and its cravings place priority on things that do not last – on materials things that lack substance in the realm of the living. King Solomon - the richest and wisest man who ever lived - sums it up thus:  “Meaningless! Meaningless!” ... “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2) We focus on and spend time with the least rewarding matters and yet feel good about it. Time is of the essence. It is wise to value time as precious because it has become a rare commodity in this busy world where we are all racing after everything rather than prepare for eternity where we are going to spend the rest of our lives.

As prophet Noah was building the ark, he preached to the people to repent of their ways but they gave no heed and qualified him as insane. This attitude grieved God. “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5) He decided to wipe humanity from the face of the earth and start all over again with the family of a righteous man. “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:25)

God is not distant. He is a living God; not ‘an absentee landlord’. He is forever present and active. If we are unaware of His presence, it is because we have not sought after Him enough. We have not made Him our priority, nor endeavoured to nurture a relationship. Our daily preoccupations have blinded us from hearing His voice and from sensing that He is there all the time. 

The world is insensitive to the shed blood of Jesus. Some advance: ‘Why should a good father want to kill his son to atone for the sins of the world?’ ‘Why does God put His son through such gruelling pain to save the lives of those who do not even consider Him?’ These are some of the questions that constantly assail our minds but which we have consciously chosen to brush aside. The Bible teaches: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

These notions and concepts are spiritually discerned. The mind of the intellectual is inept in fathoming such truths. “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14) It takes someone with child-like faith to believe without questioning. At a time in Israel when every young female nursed the hope of being chosen as the mother of the Messiah, the choice fell on Mary who was betrothed to Joseph.

In her search for better understanding—after the angel announced to her the mystery birth -- she enquired of angel Gabriel who had broken the news to her;  “How can these things be?” In her innocence, she wanted more complete information; it was not a question of doubt.

How I wish that we begin to question God with a view to hearing Him share with us in no uncertain terms what His plans are rather than for us to want to second guess His noble intentions He has for us. 

All what God does, has a purpose. Our duty is to find out the purpose and follow it to the letter.