Are You Smart?

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The chief difference between words and deeds is that words are always intended for men for their approbation, but deeds can be done only for God.

Count Leo Tolstoy 1828-1910, Russian Novelist, Philosopher

James 4:14-17
Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that." But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. NASU

The Talmud which is a Jewish archive of Oral Tradition written around BC 500?-400 AD, says this of wisdom and deeds. “Everyone whose deeds are more than his wisdom, his wisdom endures; and everyone whose wisdom is more than his deeds, his wisdom does not endure.” In American lingo we would say of someone that they were “All talk, and no do,” or they were too smart for their own good.

What is it to be smart, well let’s break it down. To be smart is to be practical, and I have seen many unpractical intelligent people. We are to set practical, realistic and Godly goals for our lives, so to be smart is to have goals that are SMART: S = Specific M = Measurable A = Assignable (who does what) R = Realistic T = Time-Related.

Specific in that we maintain our Godly Direction. Measurable in that we measure our progress by God’s measuring stick, His Word. Assignable in that we apply His Word practically every day to our lives, and Realistic in remembering that we are human and God knows we won’t get it all right. Time related as in remembering that life is short, and then comes and eternity with Him. It’s a way we can live intelligently and not be led around by the stupidity of Satan and his limited goals for our lives…God Bless.

Pastor William