Page 66 - The Gate and the Way

still retain the ability, and tendency, to think as natural men. This tendency to operate from
a natural wisdom must be cast down.

I Corinthians 3:18-19
Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age,
he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world
is foolishness before God.

What does Paul mean when he says we “must become foolish”? The natural man
esteems things that God does not. Look at the world around you. Look at what is promoted
on television and in all forms of media. A pursuit of material abundance is one of the chief
tenets of worldly wisdom. Try to get as much of this world as you can. Seek a comfortable
life. Enjoy as much pleasure as possible. Pursue popularity. Live large. Be filled and happy.
This is the wisdom of the world. Yet the wisdom of Christ speaks in this way:

Luke 6:20-26
And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, "Blessed are you who
are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you
shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you
when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil,
for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your
reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the
prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.
Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh
now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for
their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”

The wisdom of God esteems that which the natural man despises. The natural man
seeks to walk in strength. The spiritual man boasts in his weakness, for then the power of
Christ can be revealed in him. There are a multitude of ways in which Yahweh can bring His
sons and daughters to experience this necessary sense of weakness. In the passage we
previously looked at from the apostle Paul, he was writing about a thorn in the flesh. This
thorn was some type of physical affliction that was very humbling. Yet, Paul acknowledged
that there were other things Yahweh brought into his life, and ours, to produce in us this
same sense of natural weakness so that we would look to the power of Yahweh to sustain
us.

“Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses,
with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak,
then I am strong.”

Has Yahweh brought you to a place where you are insulted and reproached? Does this
not cause you to perceive your vulnerable position in this world? Those who are popular feel
empowered by their popularity, yet those who are insulted are weak by comparison.
Have you been brought to experience various distresses? Perhaps you have distressing
circumstances in your finances. Maybe the distress is in learning of some serious medical
problem you are facing. Whatever the experience, distresses come into our lives to help