In some circles, being street smart is the best kind of intelligence. Here one has learned the way of the city, where the dangerous people and places are. If you don’t know your way around, staying with one who is street smart may be your ticket to safety.
In Proverbs 2, a father had a heart-to-heart talk with his son, where it reads, “To deliver you from the way of evil…” (Proverbs 2:12). The father was concerned about whether his son was aware of the most important kind of knowledge and whether he had the work-ethic required to get that knowledge. He appealed to him to see the “treasure” (Proverbs 2:1) of being God-smart. God-smart is better than any other kind of intelligence.
Paul talked about people who claimed to know God, “but by their deeds deny him” (Titus 1:16 NASB). John talked about people who claimed to know God, but it was obvious they didn’t. How do we know? They didn’t keep His commandments (1 John 2:4). Paul told the Christians at Thessalonica that on Judgment Day God is going to deal out retribution to those who know not God (2 Thessalonians 1:8). As Solomon told his son, everyone needs to “discover the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:5). That sounds like good advice for us, too.
We spend our lives learning all kinds of stuff. We may know how to build a house or how to fix a car. We may know how to prepare a meal or how to sew a dress. We may know history, geography, philosophy or some other -sophy. We may even be street smart. Yet, nothing (literally) is better than being God-smart.
That kind of smart is better than street smart. Street smart may save your life today. God-smart will save your life for eternity.
