“He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.” (Proverbs 25:9) Each of us can think back to school and remember the teachers that influenced us. Some were good and some were bad—it always seems that the two extremes are what we recall.
Life has a way of presenting itself as a giant classroom. Depending upon our response to various circumstances will determine if we become greater fools or gain valuable wisdom for the years to come. Tragically, most of us can list examples of both from our childhood peers. And the strange thing about it is that many times the fools from our youth become the fools in adulthood—from court jesters of our teenage years to court jesters in the county jail.
Deep in the heart of every person is the innate desire to understand the meaning and value of life. Whenever a person gives in to being a cynic, they see no difference between good and evil, for they become blinded by their pessimistic view of life. The painful thing to watch is to see how they become the grandest fools on the stage of life, but they rarely see their own foolishness.
The flip side to the cynic is the ultimate optimist—one who always believes that everyone is honest and trustworthy. Like a hog walking toward the slaughterhouse, these eternal optimists get deceived and taken advantage of by Satan and by the cunning craftiness of social manipulators. This group lakes discernment and understanding while they become living examples of Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity—trusting others the same way over and over while expecting different results.
The social failure of the cynic leads to isolation and high-mindedness. The social failure of the ultimate optimist leads to being a victim of the charlatans and deceitful schemers. This reflective person seeks another option. That option is to be a realist, avoiding the pitfalls of the previous two.
The only teacher that will offer the needed instruction for the realist is Jesus Christ. He never asks us to deny the reality of the pain and sorrow of this world. Yet, he also gives us the only hope that exists for this life and the life to come. We live in a world that is growing more advanced in skepticism, bordering on giving up on the pursuit of meaning and purpose. From young to old, many are only looking for a good party to drown out the cry of loneliness within their own hearts—denying the voice of reality placed in them by God.
Learning the way of Christ DEMANDS humility. It comes no other way. The Lord has always resisted the proud; he still does. However, when we choose to bend our rebellious hearts to the gospel of the New Testament, the Lord rescues us from the ditches of cynicism and secular optimism. He makes us a realist. King David, one who knew a lot about personal sin and rebellion, introduces us to the teacher who steps into our life when we humble ourselves. We will learn what is right and what is the way when and only when… Christ is our Teacher!
