Paul quoted the prophet Isaiah: “As the Scriptures say, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.’ So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe” (I Corinthians 1:19-21).

We can too easily forget who God uses to advance His Kingdom. Paul told us to remember that few of us were wise in the world’s eyes, powerful, or wealthy when God called us. Instead, He chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who think they are powerful. (see vs. 26-27). 

To finish well in this life, both spiritually and emotionally, requires that we allow Jesus to expose and remove from us what we once thought was so valuable, and to discard what we had previously thought was intelligent. 

This is easier said than done. Only the Lord can lead us to a place of humility where we are willing to discard what we once believed was important and embrace what we once demeaned. 

May God’s Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding become our wisdom and understanding – not relying on our human achievements, our scholarly brilliance, or any position we might have acquired along the way.