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Human Arrogance
Apr 14, 07:06 AM
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1)
The arrogance of human beings knows no bounds. As a race, we have all but decided that we do not need God. We point to our own accomplishments: “Look at what we have done! Look at how we have improved things! Look at how much more advanced we are than those who have come before us! Look at the things we have built and the wealth we have amassed!” We point to the historical abuses of religion and decide that faith in God is repressive and irrational.
If we do decide that there might in fact be some divine being out there after all, we decide for ourselves what we will or will not accept, what we will or will not believe. We have, as a human race, begun to decide for ourselves the terms under which we will or will not receive the One who created us. Some have even taken to saying, “God really is your own consciousness. You are the divine!” Is there no end to our foolishness? “Claiming to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1:22) “Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the Lord?” (Psalm 14:4)
God is who God is. Though we can participate in the divine nature and God can and does dwell within us, we are not God! God is not the sum total of all the things we think are good nor is God the culmination of all the world’s religions. To say that God is infinite does not mean that God is whatever we conceive God to be. God has certain attributes, a certain character, a way of thinking, a way of relating, a way of doing things. God has gone to great lengths to communicate the very essence of His divine nature. God has used particular means to communicate and demonstrate who He is. We do not have to stumble about in the darkness saying, “God cannot be known.” God can be known and it is God’s desire that we know Him and love Him in the same way that God loves us. But it will be on God’s terms, not ours. Anything else is just plain human arrogance.
The scientific method, what we call “rational knowledge,” has totally shaped the understanding of truth for this generation. Let us be reminded that the age of reason is only about 300 years old. If the world remains, it too will give way to another system of knowledge in the future. In other words, we have not “arrived” at the ultimate means of attaining truth. The truth of God is eternal. It was before the beginning of the world and will be until the end. It transverses human history and transcends human wisdom. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord.” (Isaiah 55:8)
The Lord scoffs at the mighty. The Lord brings kings down from their thrones and exalts the poor and helpless. The proud and arrogant God knows from afar but the humble will rule over God’s household. God will give them a place among the great of the earth and they will feast at God’s table.