Matthew 7:24-25
Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
What is wisdom? What does it mean to be spiritually intelligent? Here the Lord Jesus defines wisdom by means of an illuminating metaphor. I’m sure His audience had a totally different (and wrong) concept of wisdom or intelligence, just like our society today.
Psychologists measure intelligence in terms of IQ (Intelligence Quotient) tests. Basically, IQ is a measure of a person’s reasoning ability. They say most people score between 85 and 110. If your IQ is over 140 you’re considered a genius. That’s how people measure “intelligence”.
But Jesus breaks it down to one word: OBEDIENCE. True intelligence has nothing to do with the score you attain on some human test. It is simply obeying the words of Christ. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whether people think you’re clever. It doesn’t matter how many puzzles you can solve, how good you’re at chess and mathematics or how many degrees you attain.
In the final analysis, all that matters is whether you DO what Jesus teaches in Scripture. Forget about having a high IQ. Have a high OQ (obedience quotient)! I challenge you to become an OQ genius. I also want to be a genius in obedience. I also want to be a spiritual genius.
To be more exact, the Lord Jesus says we’re wise if we obey His teachings as contained in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Unfortunately, modern believers no longer take that “Sermon” seriously enough. We complicate the faith and overlook fundamentals.
Beloveds, let us go back to the Beatitudes, to being salt and light of the world, to holiness like our Heavenly Father, to authentic prayer, giving and fasting, to laying up our treasures in heaven, to anxiety-free living, to seeking first the kingdom of God, to not judging others hypocritically, to knowing the fruit of authentic faith and to true obedience (in summary). Let us go back to trusting and obeying our Lord and Saviour. That’s true wisdom. That is being truly smart in the sight of God. And that’s how you and I can be spiritual geniuses.
Pastor Josh