Our Limited Wisdom

The Bible says that our wisdom is limited.

16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?  17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.  18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.  19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written , He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.  20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.  21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;  22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present , or things to come; all are yours;  23 And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.  --1 Corinthians 3: 16-23 KJV 16 Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?  17 God will bring ruin upon anyone who ruins this temple. For God's temple is holy, and you Christians are that temple.  18 Stop fooling yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world's standards, you will have to become a fool so you can become wise by God's standards.  19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, "God catches those who think they are wise in their own cleverness."  20 And again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are worthless."  21 So don't take pride in following a particular leader. Everything belongs to you:  22 Paul and Apollos and Peter; the whole world and life and death; the present and the future. Everything belongs to you,  23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.   --1 Corinthians 3:16-23 New Living Translation   What should my conduct be in this life?  What do I bring to this world?  How do I process what has happened to me throughout my life?  How should I react to others around me?    How do we deal with those who propose that they are wiser than us?  Do we respect them and their differences?  Or do we claim that we are right?  Do we give grace to others who might not know all the details about a topic of conversation?  Condemnation, through judgment, is detrimental to a Christian's mental health.  A judgmental attitude against me from fellow Christians has perplexed me.  To understand this situation, I consulted my Bible.  I have long looked at the above verses in one light, but I have learned something new.  I used to look at these verses as referring to my body being a temple of God, in terms of the physical health of my body.  This second look is helping me to understand that it could also refer to the mental health aspect, too.  My mama said that if I knew everything I had to know, I wouldn't need to learn anything new (in college).   I have said it before--I am not perfect.  I have never claimed to be the smartest, even within my own family.  In fact, even during my university days, I was regarded as a know-it-all by several individuals.  In many ways, I have merely challenged myself in many areas of my life.  I am always on the lookout to improve myself; that's why I read my Bible.  I humbly say that I, in no way, see myself as the wisest person on this planet.  According to the Bible, King Solomon was the wisest man, and even he claimed that to know everything was not enough.  In verse 18 above the apostle Paul says that if anyone of us humans claims to be the wisest, he/she should realize that it is foolishness.  The thing about being human is that we don't see all of the different viewpoints in a given situation.  Only God can claim that.    I liken this situation to a person being inside a box.  This person can only see whatever is inside the box.  Now, imagine a giant looking from outside of that box.  The giant can see so much more.  I truly believe that we should try to be like the giant, who can see all the angles of any given situation (or inside the box).  We, who are Christians, belong to Christ, even though we have limited wisdom.  The next time I am judged for something I say or do, I will try to remember that my persecuters are basing their opinions about me with their limited wisdom.  I should give them the same grace that I want from God.  I will aim to, in other words, "cut them some slack."  After all, we are, as Christians, constantly striving to become more Christ-like. 

I think God's word below sums up my situation (my limited wisdom is my weakness):  Each time he [God] said, "My [grace] gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness." So now I [Paul] am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me.  --2 Corinthians 12:9 New Living Translation 

Thanks for reading this blog entry about our limited wisdom.  I appreciate you taking the time to read it.

 How about you, my beloved readers?  As Christians, do you understand the idea of our limited wisdom?  Are you willing to give grace to someone who isn't as smart as you?  Or are you willing to be uncharitable by withholding grace?  Remember this: If you want God, the Father, to forgive you of yours sins (or shortcomings), you should also forgive your fellow human beings, too. I encourage you all to read different versions of 1 Corinthians 3:16-23 to understand what the Bible says about our limited wisdom affecting another person's mental health, which is part of a Christian's body (temple of God).   May the only true God of all gods bless us, my dear friends, with His wisdom and peace.  In Jesus' name.  Amen!  

This has been an entry for the Spiritual Sundays series. 

To compile this mini- bible study, I visited: http://www.biblestudytools.com/