“For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart’” (1 Corinthians 1:19).
Almost thirty years ago, I clipped an installment of Walt Kelly’s famous comic strip, Pogo. I rediscovered it a few days ago. The yellowing clipping is dated July 28, 1973. It is one of the most profound pieces of newspaper humor I have ever seen.
The strip shows Pogo and Porkypine leaning against a fallen tree in Okefenokee Swamp. They are philosophizing, as they often do.
“I been readin’ ’bout how maybe they is planets peopled by folks with advanced brains,” offers Porkypine. “On the other hand, maybe we got the most brains… maybe our intellects is the universe’s most advanced.”
Pogo and Porkypine are silent for a long moment. And then Porkypine concludes:“Either way, it’s a mighty soberin’ thought.”
And how. Our best and brightest business brains – far from addressing practical human problems – have given us Enron. Our powerful religious brains – far from the transparent love of Jesus – have invented complicated coverups for scandal. Our political brains and shining intellects seem to edge the world toward ever less security, respect and mutual understanding, rather than more of it. And to top it off, our overpaid baseball brains may soon shut down the rest of the season. Their many millions, apparently, are not yet millions enough.
Is this the best we’ve got? Porkypine is right; it’s a mighty soberin’ thought.
Porkypine’s deft comment shows up the lie we moderns have been living. We have believed in the myth of perpetual development. “We got the most brains.” We have presumed that human beings and societies are getting better and better – and are bound to get better all on their own, what with all the “advanced intellects” we have among us. We simply need to trust the goodness inherent in the modern western spirit. And when dealing with non-western cultures, well, they will get better, too, as they get more like us.
The Bible paints a different picture. If you want to be great, you must become small. If you want to be wise, you must give up what you know. Mature faith is the faith of a child. You live by dying. You get ahead by getting under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
It was Porkypine who gave us another pearl of comic strip wisdom, often remembered by Pogo fans. “We have seen the enemy and he is us.” Our best brains and strenuous effort result in absolutely nothing without dealing with the enemy at work in our own hearts. And there is only one way to do so: repentance and new life through faith in the Savior. It’s a soberin’ thought.
"The Way I See It", September 2002
© Copyright 2002 (World Mission Prayer League). All rights reserved.