What is the Difference Between Man’s Wisdom and God’s Wisdom?

Q: Many people in the world brag on the knowledge that mankind has accumulated, and it seems that arrogance of what has been accomplished through education has been idolized. What is the difference between man’s wisdom and God’s wisdom? – T.W.

A: There is more knowledge in the world today than ever before. Computers can transmit information in a millisecond to any part of the globe by satellite. More information has been processed, more facts discovered in this century, than in all of the other centuries of human history combined.

Yet man has never been further from solving his basic problems, the basis of which is alienation from others. It is this alienation which produces wars, crime, and all of the other social ills. The United Nations was supposed to be a forum in which people could resolve their differences. Instead, it has been a forum for magnifying them.

The Bible says there are two kinds of wisdom in the world. First, there is wisdom that is given by God, a wisdom which, after the mind of Christ, views life in terms of eternity. Of this wisdom, the Scripture says, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17).

The second is the “wisdom of the world” which, God says, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise” (1 Corinthians 1:19).

The troubles and problems of the human race have stemmed from the fact that it has followed the wisdom of the world rather than the wisdom of the Lord. Each person has the equal opportunity of choosing which kind of wisdom they will choose. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10).

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)

(c)2020 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.