Intelligence, Wisdom, and Pride

In Jeremiah 8, the prophet speaks on the perverse nature of the nation.

He speaks of those who consider themselves wise.

In truth, they are not.

They have manipulated the Word to suit their own desires.

Jeremiah 8:9 (NRSVue) - The wise shall be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and taken; since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what wisdom is in them?

In Paul’s first letter to Corinth, he writes of the cross and the wisdom of God.

Just as in Jeremiah’s time, there were those in Paul’s time who deemed themselves wise.

They relied on their own intelligence and neglected the wisdom that comes from God.

1 Corinthians 1:20 – (NRSVue) - Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

What about us in the modern world?

Perhaps we are intelligent.

But the words intelligent and wise do not mean the same thing.

Intelligence describes the capacity to gain new knowledge.

True wisdom comes from God and can be gleaned from his Word.

Those who are granted wisdom by God seek to use that wisdom properly.

That means applying it in a way that aligns with God’s will.

A big part of wisdom involves time.

It means listening for God to call us to a purpose and then pursuing that call.

But the moment we seek to do things our way rather than His, we become unwise.

And that is one of the reasons that Scripture repeatedly warns us about pride.

We must not allow the arrogance of our intelligence to take over from the wisdom God gives us.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com on Friday, April 25, 2025.

I will be back here on Friday, May 2, 2025