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A Mary T. Hoffman Commentary from All-Creatures.org

 

"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful.  At the same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.

 


Intelligence, Knowledge, and Wisdom – 2 October 2006
By Mary T. Hoffman

Probably most people think of intelligence as the ability to reason, learn, comprehend, and solve problems. They think in terms of “I.Q.” or intelligence quotient, the number used to express the relative intelligence of a person determined by dividing his mental age by his chronological age and multiplying by 100.

Yet, I have observed that a person’s I.Q. has little if anything to do with a person’s character or what I like to think of as “spiritual intelligence.” A person with a high I.Q. can be kind and compassionate or just the opposite – cruel and lacking in empathy for God’s creatures. Intelligence, whether high, low or average, seems to have little if anything to do with “spiritual intelligence.”

Then there is “wisdom” or the ability to use knowledge. A person can be a “walking encyclopedia,” yet not use that knowledge wisely. One of my favorite Bible passages is found in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament): Isaiah, Chapter 11. Here the Prophet Isaiah foresees the coming of the Messiah and describes Him as having the “spirit of wisdom and understanding…the spirit of knowledge….”

I especially like the passage that begins with Verse 6 –

“And the wolf will dwell with the lamb….”

and ends with Verse 9:

“They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.”

It’s the application of this knowledge that brings an end to all the hurting and destroying of both humans and other animals that is so rampant upon this earth today. It seems ironic that so many people, who claim to be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, continue to promote cruelty and suffering either directly or indirectly.

Frank and I pray for the arrival of that day when there will no longer be any hurting or destroying in all of God’s creation.

Go on to: The Fun of Eating Pomegranates – 3 October 2006
Return to: Progress – 1 October 2006
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