Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. – I Corinthians 1:26-29
Has it ever occured to you that Paul might have been deliberately insulting the Corinthians here? No one likes to be called stupid, but here is Paul saying in effect, you may like to think you are wise but you are not… you may like to think you are influential, but you are not… you may like to think you are important, but you are not…
I’m guessing that a number of the folk in the Church at Corinth were rather put out when Paul’s letter was first read to them! The nerve of the man implying I’m a fool…
It’s a challenge to us, even today. After all, we’ve gone through an educational system that claims to prize knowledge and reward intellectual prowess, holding it out as one of the greatest goals that humans can achieve. So, how do we balance that worldly striving after success, knowledge and advancement with the message of Paul to the Corinthians, with the message of the Gospel?
Keeping our minds fixed on the cross of Jesus is a constant reminder that we can do nothing and he has done everything. In his weakness, he accomplished more than you or I could do with all of our human strength. This truth should be utterly humbling
Today, in much of the supposedly enlightened Western world, Christians are still considered to be foolish. Most atheist intellectuals consider that believing in Jesus is a sign of mental weakness.
So I find it encouraging that more and more intellectuals, scientists, physicists and others, celebrities included, are publicly acknowledging their faith in Jesus Christ.
There are some pretty impressive Christian apologists out there as well, but is the ability to argue the case for Christ with eloquence what it’s all about? I am not so sure. It’s not so much about what we say but how we say it, and even more about how we live our lives, and the key to a Godly way of life if humility.
How can we humbly serve God and serve others? It is by loving God first and by loving others, more than we love ourselves.
We should not be seeking education for our own “betterment”, but that we may better help others. We should not be seeking our own glory, but rather, seeking to glorify God.
“I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.” Matthew 11:25
May God give us the humility of little children, as we joyfully accept our calling to be fools for Christ’s sake.
With love in him,
Sarah
Sarah Cunnington
Sarah Cunnington is a Christian artist and (more recently) writer, who has been living in France with her husband Martyn since 2005, where they jointly lead a small English speaking House Church.
She became a Christian at the age of 25 following a dramatic encounter with Jesus Christ, which totally changed the direction of her life. Now, with family in the Chesterfield area, Redeemer King has become her home Church whenever she's back in the UK.
Related Content
