What Shall It Profit?

Intelligence is a highly valued commodity in today’s world. We hear about the 12 year old who made a perfect score on the SAT. The Guinness Book at one time established Marilyn vos Savant as having the highest IQ on record at 228. She was born just five days before me. Maybe she grabbed so much, there wasn’t enough when I came along. She is the writer of the Ask Marilyn column that runs in newspapers all over the country. Her record continues to be one that is debated and discussed by experts with many lingering questions and challenges. Modern intellectual giants like the astrophysicist Stephen Hawking are idolized. When we visualize great intellectual thinkers from the past we conjure up images of people like an Einstein, Aristotle, Galileo, Socrates, and King David’s son, Solomon, called the wisest man who ever lived.

Let me state clearly that I exclude the man Jesus of Nazareth, He who was born of the virgin Mary, the long awaited Jewish Messiah, the Christ, the Savior, because I believe Him to be none other than that which the Bible reports, God Himself, God the Son, God in human flesh. That being true, He being the source of all knowledge has no rank or end to His intellect. This is both unfathomable as well as incomprehensible. Some have foolishly attempted to place His IQ at 450, which at best is foolish in its mockery and at its worst, blasphemy.

I’ve taken IQ tests before. My results have always placed me significantly above the average. Is that good? Is that something I should be proud of? Is this a way to make me feel superior to those who are average or below? This is where we need truth from the Source of all truth to help us come to terms with this issue. Some try to guess at what Solomon’s IQ, (not to mention Adam’s in his pre-sin condition), must have been and then use their guess as a baseline since the Bible says prior to Christ he was the wisest man who had ever lived. To me, these kinds of exercises are the same as Solomon’s conclusion about many of the pursuits in life, “They are like chasing the wind”. (See his writing entitled Ecclesiastes)

Look closely at the world’s wisest man, Solomon. Study his life. He was a man of unsurpassed intellect, judgment, and wisdom. However, he ended up using these God given skills for evil instead of good. He actually died at a relatively young age with a revolt of his own people looming on the horizon. His choices in the latter part of his life reflected excess and indulgence instead of restraint and self-discipline. The moral of the story is one we all can learn from. Whatever we have in the way of personal, physical or mental attributes, talents, abilities, and gifts, any and all of them are capable of being used for God’s glory and the helping of others, or for our own glory and selfish ambition.

I well remember a story told by the late Dr. Adrian Rogers, a great Bible preacher, who continues to be heard on radio and TV stations all over the world. Dr. Rogers said one of his members brought an old college buddy to introduce to him. In the conversation the member told Dr. Rogers he could ask this man any sports question from any era because his friend was a living, breathing, encyclopedia of facts and information pertaining to sports. Dr. Rogers said he held out his hand and smiled but inside his heart burned as he thought how this man’s gifts could be used for God and His kingdom’s work. Dr. Rogers said he couldn’t help but wonder how many verses this man knew and how many people had he helped to find God because of his prodigious memory.

Jesus said it even more pointedly, “What shall it profit anyone if they were to gain the entire world but lose their soul?” (Mark 8:36) I’m thankful we have many smart people in the world. I’m thankful God allowed them to learn and know things that make progress possible where we are able to have better lives and prosperity. However, it is what we do with what we have that counts. Maybe you are not a person with an established high IQ. Maybe you are just an ordinary person like a man with very little college who God called to preach by the name of Mordecai Ham. Bro. Ham was faithful to this calling and became a pastor and also began a revival ministry as well. In 1934 he preached a revival in a Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, where a 16-year-old boy came forward and gave his life to Christ. That young man’s name was Billy Graham.

The rest is history or an even better way to look at it is to see Bro. Mordecai as becoming a part of HIS-STORY! More later…….