Education vs. Wisdom

By Lee Carter Maynard

[Page 92]

     The Bible says that a man of understanding hath wisdom. Many seem to have education without wisdom, and some seem to have wisdom without education. A few have both. James advises, "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally." It does not seem that heaven has been heavily bombarded by men seeking heavenly wisdom.

     I once visited with an evangelist who told of holding a tent meeting in a mid-western village while trying to plant a loyal church. He said that one evening the local Methodist preacher attended the meeting, and when told of his presence, he changed his sermon and "let him have both barrels."

     I asked, "Did he come forward and get acquainted with you, or did he or any of his people ever come back to your meeting?"

     He replied, "I'll say he didn't. Not a one of them ever came back."

     "Don't you think you made a terrible mistake?" I asked. "If you had changed your sermon to the greatest of the commandments and stressed the love of God and your fellowman, he might have made himself known to you, he would have spoken kindly about you, and perhaps he might have returned for more of your messages. In the long run, you might have won many souls to the Lord. As it was you drove many away. I have known good business men to suffer because some preacher insulted the intelligence of many of their patrons, and they blamed the whole church for his harsh words."

     I need not tell you that there has not been a church founded in that village according to the tent preacher's pattern.

     I once held a meeting for a preacher fresh from one of the preacher colleges with plenty of academic education. Before the first meeting we discussed plans and prospects for the coming week. In the course of the conversation he told of a barber who lived near the meetinghouse but attended no church, and was not a prospect. He said that when he first came to town he went to the barbershop for a haircut and got acquainted with the man.

     He said, "He called me 'Reverend' a half dozen times during the haircut, and when I went to pay him, he said, "O, that's okay, reverend, you are just getting started and this one is on the house.' I proceeded to give him a good lesson on the word reverend. I informed him the word was found only one time in the Bible, and then it was referring to God, and that men who knew just did not use the term. You know, I came back in a couple of weeks for another haircut and he hardly spoke to me when I got out of the chair, and he charged me a dollar."

[Page 93]

     I said, "That is good. He should have charged you five dollars. Can't you see what a mistake you made? If you had been kind to him you could have been getting free haircuts, and perhaps he would have been neighborly enough to attend your services, and you might have won him to the Lord. But you muffed the ball, and perhaps caused him to remain forever unconverted."

     You know, I fear that much of the terribly divided condition among us is the result of a lack of wisdom in dealing with others for Christ.