1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than
men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that
not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are
called: 27 But God hath chosen the
foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which
are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring
to nought things that are: 29 That no
flesh should glory in his presence.
The first Christians were of the lowest part of society; slaves,
former slaves, persons in trade, and very ordinary men and women. They were not
educated in a worldly sense.
Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and
John, and perceived that they were unlearned
and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they
had been with Jesus.
The God who created us came to earth to live as a man, not in the
body of a philosopher or member of the nobility but as a simple carpenter’s step-son.
Matthew 13:55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren,
James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
John 7:14 ¶ Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went
up into the temple, and taught. 15 And
the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?
A great many people in positions of leadership in the world, not
all, but a great many; in government and business are little more than
narcissistic sociopaths who are self-serving and have little empathy for others
unless it makes them look good. There is a famous quote that has come down to
us from history that is usually only partially quoted. I give the full quote
here.
“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts
absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise
influence and not authority; still more when you superadd the tendency of the
certainty of corruption by authority.”(3)
(1)
Acton Institute, “Power and
Authority,” Lord Acton Quote Archive, https://acton.org/research/lord-acton-quote-archive, (accessed 4.15.2018)
The
rich and powerful have not typically come to Christ in history without
perverting the gospel and making it justify hierarchies and oppression, totally
twisting the text to certify the power structure they impose that serves their
wants and needs. In fact, the efforts of Christianity, while seemingly
forwarded by those with money is actually corrupted by them.
As
one example, in the 1700s in America it was typical for Baptist leaders to
condemn slavery. But, then Baptist preachers weren’t usually educated in
worldly institutions. But, as Baptist churches sought to save the rich and
powerful and Baptist youth began going to school side-by-side with the sons of
wealthy slave-owners this changed and they began to justify slavery and honor
it as an, if not noble institution, then a necessary evil. Many even uplifted
it as good and honorable. This is the type of thing that has happened all
through history if the church was not careful and cautious about doctrine and
who they sought and who they embraced as brothers and sisters. Even today there
are people sitting in fundamentalist churches who are accepted for no other
reason than their ability to contribute financially to the church’s activities
and a shallow profession of faith after the A-B-C prayer.
Truthfully,
an Appalachian woman who survives by taking in laundry or a city ghetto woman
who has to sleep in her bathtub for fear of random gunfire but who believe the
Bible have more spiritual authority than a CEO who comes to church on Easter
and Christmas but gives liberally to the church for a tax write-off.
God
called the things of the world who are despised by the world; slaves and common
laborers, women with barely any legal rights in the Graeco-Roman world, to
partake of eternal life. When the mighty and the noble got involved there
developed a separate strain of Christianity which was used to bolster the power
structure, political and social, undermining Christ’s doctrine. Some good
things came from this set-up but so did much perversion of the faith. We, as
simple Christians, must learn to chew the meat and spit out the bones.
In
Mark, chapter 4, and Matthew, chapter 13, the parable of the mustard seed is
given. In Matthew the birds of the air, likened to Satan, lodge in the branches
of this tree grown unnaturally large, in type the Kingdom of Heaven. In Mark
the birds of the air lodge in its shadow, as the phrase Kingdom of God is used.
It is clear from both tellings of the parable that there is much falsehood in
the church and many who use it but are not truly saved. This parable is told in
conjunction in Matthew with the parable of the Tares and the Wheat which show that
there are many false Christians who will not be rooted out until the judgment.
Now,
we know that the Bible cannot be read in a modernistic fashion, like your
car-owner’s manual or the instructions on how to set-up your phone, so if you
take the corruption of modernism out, the mistake of reading the Bible like a
textbook, rather than like a conversation with the Holy Spirit some things are
clear. One is that many people will profess faith in Christ who actually have
none but are using the church as a vehicle to assert their own agendas.
Not
very many noble or mighty are called by God. There was an old joke when I was a
child about egotistical people, “If he ever changes his religion it will be
because he no longer thinks he’s God.” People who have power over others,
people who love power over others, the so-called alpha-male or female of
popular literature, should examine themselves to see if they really are not
just trying to catch a piggy back ride with God so they can justify their lust
for control rather than truly being in submission to Christ.
Why
was Christ not born in a palace or why did He not enter Jerusalem at the head
of a massive army when He arrived the first time? God wants man and woman to
understand how little a part they played in the salvation of mankind. Just as
at the end of Christ’s thousand-year reign on earth, when Satan is released to
stir up the kings of the earth, it becomes clear that mankind’s wickedness is a
part of them and they cannot blame Satan for their evil thoughts and desires, God
makes it evident in the act of salvation that no flesh should glory in his presence. God used the politically
weakest, those who had little access to wealth and power, to accomplish His
ends, not the mighty and noble.
Let
us also remember;
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he
power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
God has defeated the world by accomplishing His ends in a way
contrary to what the world acknowledges as legitimate. He is glorified in the
common man and woman who humbly believe Him rather than the mighty and noble
who would use Him to justify their own lusts and greed.
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