Wise and Influential

When I reflect on my life, I can say rather confidently that some of the wisest men I have known were not Christian as many would term it. The other side of that is, many of the best Christians I have known were not very wise.  I do not know if that is a contradiction or simply a distorted reflection. However, it seems that those concepts are almost mutually exclusive but they are not - or at least should not be.

The wise men I have known relate life's issues in terms that are often Christian - but applicable to all men.

The Christians I have known usually relate life's issues in terms of quoting scripture - words that are not always understandable to all men (1 Cor. 2:14).

Perhaps this is one of the reasons false and deceptive teachings are so readily received by the multitudes. What is being said seems wise and insightful, however, it has no real basis of truth. Whereas those who would combat these false teachings with Scripture seem infantile and unwise, because "natural man" cannot understand them.

False teaching is seductive because it appeals to our inner desire for independence and self-sufficiency. Scripture is repulsive because it reveals and exposes man's insufficiency and lays bare the true intent of the heart - not the mind.

Of course, none of this is new. But because of today's technology and information gathering, we learn about the masses who are seduced by these false teachings quickly and easily.

Now it is no "secret" why these teachings are appealing to those who are being taught by "The Secret" or by Oprah,  it fills a need in people's lives for meaning and satisfaction.

Were these same people to see in us a sense of meaning and satisfaction, perhaps they would be drawn in the direction of the cross. But, in most instances, they do not. Or at least if they do, they see a certain level of contradiction between what we say and what we do.

Another part of it is that Christianity is not a path without suffering and challenge. Followers of Christ are never assured of anything except tribulation, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world (John 16:33)."

Most people I know and perhaps many you know, will not willingly sign up for a life like that. That is, until they see the peace it brings in the midst of tribulation and the love expressed through Christ.

Perhaps this whole process is something akin to Elijah and his standoff with the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18).  Whose God is real? Whose God will answer?  

Well?

Do we live as serving a living God who will answer or do we live as servants of a baal - deceived into believing that somehow what is a figment has now become real in some way?

Wise and influential - one necessarily precedes the other. We can have little influence if we are not wise.