Become a Fool to Become Wise

1 Corinthians 3:19 states that the wisdom of this world is foolishness in G-d's eyes.  Everything Satan does to try and snare us, fools us into thinking it's right because the judge [we use] is our flesh which always goes in the opposite direction of G-d's will for us.  Jeremiah 17:9 - the heart is deceitful above all things...

We should always use G-d's word to judge a thing...we will never go wrong.  His word is unchanging, His mercy never ends, and His faithfulness is for all eternity.

I began thinking about this when I heard someone quoting 1 Tim 6:10 - which speaks of the love of money being the root of all evil.  The speaker went on to talk about tithing to make the point that giving a portion of what we have will keep us from loving money too much.  Ecc 5:10 states that whoever loves money never has enough.  And G-d's wisdom says we can "fight greed with generosity."  This was a quote by Joyce Meyer and I thought it was a good thing to remember. 

It seems that G-d's ways are higher than our ways and in direct opposition to what the world (or Satan) has to say.  Our motto should be "if it feels right....DON'T do it."  The world has said for years that we SHOULD do it but this is WRONG and will always lead down the wrong path.  Another quote by Joyce Meyer this morning is her definition of wisdom.  She said that "wisdom chooses to do NOW what it will be satisfied with later on."  Our flesh really does not know what will satisfy it.  It seeks to have what it wants, when it wants and never waits for G-d to supply it.  G-d's ways seem to always require a waiting period which is trying to our faith because we are forced to trust in what we cannot see.  Isaiah 40:31 and Hebrews 11:1.

I am reminded again of one of my favorite stories from Joshua.  In the beginning of the book when G-d gives Joshua his charge the L-rd counsels Joshua to always consult G-d before making any decisions.  Joshua agrees to this and follows this advise until chapter 9 when he makes the biggest mistake of his life.  A mistake that we are still suffering the results. The Gibeonites deceived Joshua by making themselves look as if they had traveled a great distance and without praying for G-d's wisdom Joshua believed them.  He trusted his flesh and of course was deceived.  His failure to seek G-d's wisdom and wait for G-d's answer came after the oath was made to not war with them.

So when a decision needs to be made (especially big, life-altering decisions) we should ALWAYS consult G-d's will and do things according to His order if we want His blessing because He has already told us in Jeremiah 17:9 that we cannot trust our heart (flesh).  So we will not know what we will be satisfied with later and must rely on G-d who does know.  Wait upon the L-rd and He will renew your strength.