Hi, this is Bill Vanderbush I am a Pastor at Community Presbyterian Church in Celebration, Florida. Have you ever gotten on social media and seen an argument going on, and suddenly thought, “I have an opinion about that. I am going to go ahead and jump in here with my opinion and let everybody know what I think.” Then you stop and think about it. You think to yourself, this isn’t worth the headache. This is not the hill I want to die on. That is a phrase I hear a whole lot these days. People ask the question, “Is that the hill you want to die on?” Fortunately, I think a lot of us decide, “Maybe that is not the hill I want to die on. I don’t want to lose my joy to some online argument today.” So, you turn and walk away.
When it comes to hills we choose to die on, it is kind of a big deal that we pick and choose wisely. I want to read a scripture to you and make a quick comment. In 1 Corinthians 3, starting down at verse 18, Paul says this, “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks he is wise in this age, he must become foolish so that he can become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, ‘He is the one who catches the wise in his craftiness.’ For the Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.” Jesus, I believe, is firmly committed to the destruction of human intellect that exalts itself against Him. That is why we are called to cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the revelation knowledge of God. I believe Jesus is so firmly committed to the destruction of a humanistic intellect, that the hill He chose to die on was literally called the “skull”. That’s what “Golgotha” means, the place of the skull. There are a lot of hills around there that Jesus could have died on, but that’s the one He picked.
I think what it speaks to us is this: we are genuinely not to be leaning on our own understanding when it comes to the things of God. God is interested in your mind, we are called to renew our mind, not remove our mind. A mind surrendered to the plans and purposes of God will have a sanctified imagination you can see from Heaven’s perspective. That is the mind God can work through. Sometimes you realize His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, His ways higher than our ways. When we tap into His thoughts for our lives, it takes us to a whole new level of revelation.
Today don’t lean on your own level of understanding. Maybe in the workplace you are going to have a problem that arises. You are trying to think, “How can I intellectually solve this problem?” God says, “No, don’t lean on our own understanding. Lean on me.” He has the answer for every situation you are facing, no matter how meaningless it may seem. He cares about what concerns you. Lean on His understanding today. You will find His wisdom. Amen.