The following words were delivered by the Secretary General of the United Nations U Thant in the early 1970s before 2500 people, including statesmen and scholars from around the world.
What element is lacking so that with all our skill and all our knowledge we still find ourselves in the dark valley of discord and enmity? What is it that inhibits us from going forward together to enjoy the fruits of human endeavor and to reap the harvest of human experience? Why is it that, for all our professed ideals, our hopes, and our skills, peace on earth is still a distant objective seen only dimly through the storms and turmoils of our present difficulties?
The answer is quite simple. Humanism is addicted to knowledge and allergic to wisdom. Note carefully the wording of our skill, our knowledge, human endeavor, human experience and professed ideals. This is the Tower of Babel lived out in the 20th and 21st centuries and will continue to be lived out as long as man sees himself as the center of the universe.
I think we need to define our terms. Knowledge is the accumulation of information while wisdom is the proper application of knowledge. Gain all the knowledge you can over many lifetimes and you will find yourself just where you started. Just take a cold hard look at the exponential increase in knowledge and a closer look at all the trouble the world is in. Why hasn’t the knowledge solved our problems? In the 1700s a pastor made the following observation: “Give me a candle and my bible, lock me in a dungeon and I will tell you what the world is doing.” Quite prophetic.
However, my concern is not so much with the lack of wisdom in the world. After all, we are told that Satan is a liar and has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. My concern is with the church. We are addicted to theological knowledge and allergic to theological wisdom. In other words we have the knowledge but lack the wisdom in its application. Thus the never ending infighting.
This all came to a head a number of years ago when I was watching either The Gospel Coalition or Together For The Gospel conference. I love hearing great scholars and preachers teach the deep things of God. But something came to my attention that caused me a great deal of consternation. Here were six or seven men on stage answering theological issues with great authority. Thousands online and thousands in person were taking notes. Yet it struck me that these men could not plant a church together. Why not? Too many theological differences, that’s why. And now, wait for it, no two of them could plant a church. I started thinking of the multiplication of churches around the Mediterranean rim as recorded in the book of Acts. Where were the creeds, statements of faith, and confessional views? Why did the church spread so rapidligly without all the commentaries, blogs, websites and theological swim lanes?
Have we complicated the message? I believe we have.