I agree with you, but your thought certainly raises questions. If wisdom is meaningless, why then pursue it at all? If God is the source if all meaning, why should I not drop political theory and follow Pascal’s example, devoting myself completely (within common sense) to prayer, evangelism, and the study of scripture? Assuming that such a life would draw me closest to God, why would not God call me to it?
Abraham, even though Solomon wrote that wisdom is meaningless, if we interpret his statement in the most literal sense, it contradicts other parts of Scripture (Proverbs 2 for example). In fact, when Solomon asked God for wisdom, God didn’t think it was a foolish request. It’s more correct to interpret the statement in this way: if we pursue wisdom independently of God, then it is meaningless.
The question you asked about wisdom applies to all other areas, as you noted in the last part of your comment. The answer is the same for all other areas as well. God is sovereign over all creation. For the Christian, there is no discipline, no area of life, that can be pursued independent of God’s law. A complete answer requires that I clarify the implications of God’s sovereignty and then show how it applies to wisdom and to the way we live our lives.
THE IMPLICATIONS OF GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY<>
The nature of God is such that he is both immanent and transcendent, as I noted in my post about Christian Theism. He is independent of his creation (transcendent) because he existed prior to it and because he exercises full control over it. He is also immanent, meaning that he is fully present and personal. The transcendence and immanence of God are reflected in his sovereignty. Because he is transcendent, he is the source of all creation and of all being. Nothing exists without his constant provision. Because he is immanent, he is directly involved in everything that happens. The combination of the transcendent and immanent aspects of God’s sovereign nature means that no part of creation is independent of God’s will or has significance apart from him.
WHAT THIS MEANS ABOUT WISDOM
Of course, people choose to ignore God and try to find meaning apart from him. However, people fail to do so because it is impossible. When they pursue wisdom apart from him, it is meaningless. Trying to find wisdom without God is foolishness. Conversely, pursuing wisdom in the context of God’s law is meaningful. There is a difference between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God. As Paul explain in 1 Corinthians, ‘Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world…We…speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.’
WHAT THIS MEANS ABOUT THE WAY WE LIVE OUR LIVES
The life to which God calls Christians is one of advancing his kingdom by applying godly worldview to every discipline. Apologetics, engineering, medicine, law, construction, homemaking, and political theory are all meaningful if Christians pursue them in a godly way. Being a missionary is not more holy than being a diplomat because there are great possibilities for applying Christian principles in both careers.
1 comments:
Your point about society's need for practical appliers of the Christian worldview is very true. If all men became theologians, we would live in hell, not heaven.
A deeper point would be the importance of such appliers to evangelism. Men have a very difficult time trusting and respecting those who are dissimilar to themselves. A minister cannot persuade an academic only an academic can do that. Thus if I become skilled, I can influence the skilled who cannot be influenced by the unskilled. I can reach the unreachable.
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