SEPTEMBER 8 The ‘Morons’ of the World Are Gods Kind of People! For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.... — 1 Cor 1:26,27 If you feel that you just arent smart enough to be used by God, then todays Topic is written just for you! Get ready, because youre about to be abundantly blessed when you see exactly whom God delights in choosing and using to do mighty things in His name! In 1 Cor 1:27, the apostle Paul writes, “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise....” The word “foolish” is from the Greek word moraino. It depicts someone who is dull, dense, or slow. It was used in New Testament times to portray a person who was stupid or foolish — hence, a fool. It could also picture a person who is mentally ill or mentally deranged. The word moraino was used derogatorily to make fun of people or to put them down for being intellectually inferior. It comes from the same word from which we get the word moron. My thesaurus gives these other synonyms for a “moron”: idiot, imbecile, halfwit, numskull, dimwit, dunce, blockhead, dope, ignoramus, lamebrain, jerk, or twerp! The truth is, no one is an idiot in Gods view. But the world often has a scathing opinion and view of people whom God chooses. It is simply a fact that the world regularly ridicules us as being nitwits, lamebrains, and idiots. This is precisely the way the word moraino was used in Pauls time, depicting people whom the world scorned, made fun of, and treated with contempt. Because much of the Early Church was comprised of servants and slaves, most of the people in the local congregations were very uneducated, uncultured, clumsy, crude, awkward, and unpolished. It wasnt that they were stupid. They had simply never been exposed to or taught about manners, culture, and refined behavior. Reared and treated as servants since birth, theyd never had a need to know these skills. As a result, it is a historical fact that the vast majority of the Early Church was uncultured. Although there was a logical reason why many of the early believers were so uncultured, this lack of polish made them look stupid in the worlds eyes. In fact, at first the Roman Empire looked upon Christianity as the religion of stupid, poor people because it grew so rapidly among the lower slave classes. Yet Paul says, “...God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise...” (1 Corinthians 1:27). The word “confound” is the Greek word kataishuno. It means to put to shame, to embarrass, to confuse, to frustrate, or to baffle. The word “wise” is the word sophos, referring to those who are naturally brilliant, intellectually sharp, or especially enlightened. Paul is saying that God calls people whom the world considers morons in order to put to shame, embarrass, confuse, frustrate, and baffle those who think theyre so smart! Taking all these Greek words into consideration, an interpretive translation of 1 Cor 1:26,27 could read: “God selected people who are idiots in the worlds view; the world sees them as imbeciles, jerks, real twerps. Yet God is using them to utterly confound those who seem smart in the worlds eyes.” If anyone has ever called you an idiot — if youve ever been called a stupid imbecile, a jerk, or a twerp — its time for you to rejoice! This makes you a candidate! You are exactly the kind of person God wants to use! So dont let anyone put you down or make you feel badly about yourself. A lack of education, culture, or polish has never stopped God from using people who have a willing heart. If your heart is right and you are willing for God to use you, you are the very one He is seeking right now! Just say, “Lord, here I am! Im ready to be used!” MY PRAYER FOR TODAY Lord, I thank You for choosing to use people like me! I realize that I may not have the education, skills, culture, or high-level training that others may possess, but I do have a heart to be used by You. I want You to take me and use me for Your work in this earth. Today I surrender to You anew, asking You to take me and to use me mightily in this life! I pray this in Jesus name!
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 13:03:14 +0000
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