I've spent the last several months thinking about the utter waste in our nation. We waste resources, education, and effort on a wealth of idolatrous pursuits that are at the epicenter of American culture. It makes me sad. It is deeply sinful. And one of the saddest parts about it is that the American church has done or is doing very little to call it's people to repentance. Shame on us. Some people are just educated beyond their own intelligence, or humility. Admittedly there are times that I battle with both. I love to learn. I am good at it. And I love to share what I learn. But there comes a point when someone actually does begin to be so well educated that they abandon all wisdom.
Probably the most blatant form of nonsense drummed up by this mentality is the prevailing presupposition that declares the supernatural impossible. Men have attributed such a high value to their capacity for understanding that they assume nothing can or does exist which might actually surpass that capacity. What an absolutely arrogantly absurd assumption! This is only one example. There are numerous others.
One of my favorite scriptures is Mark 12:30 in which Jesus answers a question by telling the gathered crowd that we should love God with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind. Jesus is saying we should love God will all of our being. It is sad to me that instead of loving God with these aspects of our nature, we often choose instead to replace God with one of these aspects of our nature.
When we begin to hold dangerously lofty views of our own thoughts and opinions we begin to withhold the love of our mind from God, instead choosing to use our mind to love ourselves. When we continue to formulate ideas, or dwell on thoughts that promote ourselves we are doing the same thing in a different way. When we begin to weigh the value of someone based solely on the power of their mind, or whether or not we agree with their conclusions, we are in sin.
All over the country kids are starting back to school, universities are filling up, and teachers are heading back to work. Let's use this opportunity to develop our minds in a way that helps others, while loving God; and not a way that helps ourselves while loving ourselves.
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More posts in this series:
Football, Athletes, and Idolatry