Warning of the Appearance of Wisdom

Scripture: Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. Colossians 2:20-23

Observation: In advising the church in Colossae, Paul discusses their compliance with human advise and practices. His advice is broad and applies to a great number of potential topics, ranging from proper celebrations, to eating practices, to possible taboos about types of people. However, in all cases, what he is teaching about is how to properly delineate between practices that are declared by society, versus practices that align with the Lord's instructions for a good life. And here is the issue ... they can look similar because earthly regulations often take on four major characteristics.

-- They seem very wise and logical.

-- They invoke celebration, even joy and a form of worship.

-- They involve language and actions that appear to be humble.

-- They require discipline even to the point of physical challenges to comply.

You know what? The precepts for living within God plan can involve all four of these characteristics, too. However, the difference is easy to determine. The ways of the Lord are found in the bible, taught by Jesus; The ways of the world are found in social norms, taught without any context of faith in Jesus. And ... satan actively embraces and encourages the latter, while stirring violence against the former. 

Application: Recently a friend was talking about the sexuality of their relatives, and stated that - in discussing the matter with them - that the relatives said they "sometimes felt" like a different gender ... and of course that must make this issue "even more real" because "feelings are always valid". I didn't say anything, but I wondered how it is possible that we, as a society, can reach a point where something can sound so wise and logical, and yet be so completely wrong. And here is Paul, 13 hours later, discussing the same issue from 2,000 years ago.

Of course feelings aren't valid! This is the entire method of attack by the enemy, pointed out over and over again, from riling up Cain with jealousy and anger, to filling David with lust, to attempting to appeal to Jesus' pride, we see that human feelings are actually one of the most obvious ways satan manipulates us into sin and isolates us from God, and it is rejecting those feelings in favor of the Lord's proper teaching that keeps us aligned to Jesus. Yet here we are, in a society where the idea of personal feelings is promoted as the highest form of wisdom, and openness to the sins that result from other feelings is considered morally good, personally humble, and physically proper.

Today's social issues have the appearance of wisdom. They seem to declare that even those who disagree with them should 'advocate' for them as a means to keep others 'safe' and 'secure' and 'accepted', thus creating the concept of humble compliance. They even create models where behaviors that destroy the body (extreme and harsh treatment) are celebrated (worshipped).

I am guilty of this same behavior. I have "feelings" that I don't reject, and which I know are actually satan manipulating, attacking, and lying to me, and that I need to fight. This isn't about those who succeed versus those who fail to reject the enemy's lies. This is about a base understanding that ... the enemy is active, spreading lies through the feelings of many, and hiding those lies in the sheep's clothing of humble 'post-modern wisdom'.

Prayer: Lord, please teach us all to filter everything, our feelings, our social norms, and our opinions, through your word, and your word alone. Amen.