The Appearance of Wisdom

Scripture Reading: Colossians 2:23

These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence…

The world is full of experts and influencers. “Influencer” is an actual job and career aspiration for a lot of young people now. The goal is to gain a social media following and then parlay that into the ability to monetize that by influencing those “followers” to buy what they are selling. The thing is most of the salesmanship is subtle. It doesn’t come off like they are trying to sell you something. They are nudging not pushing.

The effective influencers are the ones who convince you they have discovered the secret sauce, some life hack, something that will change your life for the better. To use Paul’s phrase from Colossians, they have “The appearance of wisdom.”

In spiritual matters, there are influencers. Christians are not exempt from falling under the spell of those who have the appearance of wisdom. Like the Corinthians, we say “I am of Paul, or I am of Apollos.”  We just substitute Paul and Apollos with names like Platt, Moore, or Osteen and talk about how amazing they are and their new book that will change your life.

They, and what they teach, have the appearance of wisdom, but to the degree that it falls short of the gospel of Christ and the truth of Scripture, it is of no value against fleshly indulgence.

I’m not suggesting that every popular celebrity preacher is wrong on everything. I am saying that on the whole we would be better served giving our most ardent attention to the word, worship, and fellowship of our local congregation. Be influenced by the pastor you know and who knows you, the godly older men and women who share the same space with you Sunday after Sunday, and the humble Christians in your community and you will be better off in the long run. That is where you are more likely to find true wisdom and not merely the appearance of it.