The Foolishness Of God - Part 2 Series

The Governor’s Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts, 33 miles north of Boston, is the oldest independent boarding school in the United States. Samuel Moody founded the school in 1763, which includes Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, John Quincy Adams, and Booker T. Washington Jr. as part of its illustrious history. Today, the exclusive school accepts only a third of the students that apply and charges each one $67,000 a year for tuition.

The Governor’s Academy is a prestigious school, but up until fairly recently, its name belied its elite nature. The school was originally named after the governor of the Massachusetts Territory at the time, William Dummer. Can you imagine the ridicule you would receive as a student of the Dummer Academy? People would say, “Students who go in, come out Dummer.” So in 2005, the board of trustees changed the name from the Dummer Academy to The Governor’s Academy, Associated Press, 2-28-05; www.thegovernorsacademy.org).

The name “Christian” also belies the nature of Christ’s followers. People in ancient Syria were the first to use the name in the First Century to make fun of believers (Acts 11:26)—"Oh, you silly CHRISTians; you’re just like Christ,” they would say. But believers ever since then have worn the name as a badge of honor—“Yes, I am a CHRISTian, a fool for Christ’s sake.”

You see, those who follow Christ are not smarter or better than anybody else. They just know that they desperately need Jesus every day. Now, that’s the attitude you need if you’re going to repair broken relationships.

First, as we saw last week, you must consider the cross with its message of forgiveness and sacrifice. Today, God asks you to consider your calling if you want to repair broken relationships. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 1, 1 Corinthians 1, where God makes that very clear.

1 Corinthians 1:26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth (ESV).

If you want to mend broken relationships, then first of all…

REMEMBER WHAT YOU WERE.

Consider where you came from. Look at who you were without Christ.

You were not intelligent, by human standards, before you came to know Christ. You were not powerful, or better you did not have any great ability. And you were not of noble birth, literally, you were not “highborn.” In other words, most believers were not born into money. They were not born into the upper class.

There are a lot of ways to gain influence in this world. Some say, “Knowledge is power.” If you’re an expert in something, or people perceive you to be, your words carry a lot of weight. Even though the science has recently discredited Fauci, he influenced the world throughout most of the Covid pandemic, simply because people considered him an expert. Some say, “Knowledge is power.”

Others find power or influence through their ability to do things. They can build. They can organize. They can, by the sheer force of their physical size and strength, intimidate others into submission.

And still others use their wealth to influence. “Knowledge is power,” and “strength is power,” to be sure, but more often than not “money is power” in this world. If you have enough of it, it is amazing how much influence you can wield.

The problem is most Christians don’t have the knowledge, strength, or money to wield much of an influence in this world. They are stupid, weak and poor; and yet, they are the very people God chooses to change the world.

1 Corinthians 1:27-28 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are… (ESV)

God chooses stupid, weak, poor people to show up the wise, strong, rich people. God chooses nobodies to negate the influence of somebodies.

Think about it. “Abraham was old, Jacob was insecure, Leah was unattractive, Joseph was abused, Moses stuttered, Gideon was poor, Samson was codependent, Rahab was immoral, David had an affair and all kinds of family problems, Elijah was suicidal, Jeremiah was depressed, Jonah was reluctant, Naomi was a widow, John the Baptist was eccentric to say the least, Peter was impulsive and hot-tempered, Martha worried a lot, the Samaritan woman had several failed marriages, Zacchaeus was unpopular, Thomas had doubts, Paul had poor health, and Timothy was timid. That is quite a variety of misfits, but God used each of them in his service” (Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, Zondervan, October 2002, p. 233)

So says Rick Warren, in his book, The Purpose Driven Life. These “misfits” wielded a powerful influence that still impacts us today, While the powerful ones of their day are totally forgotten. The only time anyone ever sees their name is when he or she reads a history book.