Lofty

I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom.

 - From 1 Corinthians 2

It's surprising that nobody has latched onto this principle, when debating in the early 21st Century public square of ideas. 

Instead, we do rely on lofty words or wisdom. We talk about facts and logic. We clarify the emotional basis of our opponents' arguments. We cite our own superior education and background. 

We laugh, on national TV, as we mock the "hick" proclivities of our adversaries. 

I've always been more drawn to the high-school educated, and my blue-collar friends and family. I used to say that I'd rather hear a devotional by a farmer, spoken from the heart, than I would a homily presented by a graduate of the Dallas Theological Seminary. 

When someone touts their long resume of research and degrees, and their knowledge of Greek and Hebrew, it's hard for me to keep listening. Yes, it's rude. I should apologize to them when this happens. 

There's a blindness find only among those with lofty worldly credentials. Our preponderance of useless college degrees . . . and the ability for some people to find gainful employment with them, is an unfortunate blot on our generation. 

Does it feed the hungry? House the homeless? Build up children? Serve the elderly? Our problem-solving is so self-centered, on the part of the solvers. Everybody wants to be noticed. Nobody wants to notice those closest to them. 

The Gospel is simple. It doesn't require a bunch of wealthy, successful, learned, "respectable" people to understand it. We should not yield to their position and authority so much. If we should resist anything, it should be the charge that perhaps we are "elitists." If you are being categorized that way, find out why, and make yourself more accessible to the real people standing on solid ground.