Recently I was talking with some people who work for NASA and remarked about the amazing feat of sending men to the moon and returning them safely, and the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. And I read an article of a high school football coach who is credited with the “Jet Sweep” that is now widely used in the NFL and when he sees it on TV he says: “there’s the play I invented!”
From space to football people are very creative, innovative and we can accomplish much. We are pretty smart and capable. The vast breath of human ingenuity is truly amazing. But it can lead to an unhealthy view of ourselves. We can credit all this to ourselves.
I have friends who are very smart and sincerely believe that this is all about them and their intellect. They know they are smart and creative because of their accomplishments, but this has led them to love themselves, their minds and abilities. They would not consciously say this, but it is how they view themselves and the abilities of man. It is about knowledge and our abilities and quests to seek and achieve greatness.
In Job 38 and 39 is an account of God speaking to us to remind us who started all this and who is in control of it all now. God reviews everything from technology in physics and biology to the weather, from life to death and pretty much everything in between. And to address man’s mind he asks: “Who endowed the heart with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind?” (Job 38:36)
In reference to creation someone once asked me that if one walks along the beach and sees a sand sculpture of a mermaid would they conclude how amazing it is that the waves randomly washed the particles of sand into this incredible sculpture? The same is true with all of creation including the mind. It all just points to a loving, creative, imaginative creator who intentionally put all this together. The creator is greater than the creation.
Let’s celebrate our abilities but not forget where they come from and who should be praised.
Barnabas Man 