The Respect Series 6: "The Genius Factor"

A genius is, basically, known as someone with high intellectual ability. Sometimes, they're often referred to as nerds, geeks, or individuals with top tier IQs. Another labeling for this word is denoting someone as being "smart." This is a bit misleading because smarts are based upon knowledge, and most knowledge has to be learned. In others words, smarts are mainly taught and not automatic. For example, if I begin teaching one individual mathematics (along with test-taking skills) at the age of 3 and another at the age 7, when it comes to a second-grade math exam, which individual do you think will perform better? If they are both age 7 at the present time, the individual who gained knowledge much earlier would perform better and be deemed gifted or smart. The underlying notion associated with smarts or geniusness is them being in high demand. Many corporations want to have someone with genius ability making major decisions for their company. Many educational institutions of higher learning (Princeton, Standford, Harvard, M.I.T, and Yale) prefer having at least a few genius professors on their faculty. The list can go on and on. Like what was stated earlier, they're in demand!

Therefore, many parents want for their children to reach a genius level of intellect, or close to it. They'll pressure their children to study relentlessly, anything less than all "A"s is unacceptable. They'll pressure their children to have no social life, spending much of their time researching and reading. They'll pushed their chidlren to get into the leading colleges matriculating through some of the most difficult majors (astrophysics, histology, and nanotechnology). Once everything is said and done, the child is depleted from seeking to live up to the lofty expectations.

See, the main problem lies in the fact that we believe, "the more intellectual knowledge you possess, the better off in life you'll be." In other words, you'll reach that apex of genius-level respect and be in high demand. But smart people can do awfully dumb things! There is a distinct difference between book knowledge and Godly wisdom. Often, superior book knowledge is used to impress others with information that few people understand. Jesus didn't mainly advocate book knowledge but rather Godly wisdom. Scriptures like I Corinthians 1:19, 27, I Corinthians 3:18-23, and Romans 1:22 reiterate this point. Some of the apostles were even known as unlearned men or uneducated men, and God used them mightily. So much to the point that it baffled the minds of those who were schooled all their lives, they knew that these men had been with Jesus. But true wisdom comes ONLY from God (Proverbs 2:6). In addition, that very wisdom is pure and peaceful, not arrogant, pompous, and seeking to impress others (James 3:17).

The focus I'm getting at is not to denounce learning knowledge, rather it is not to seek knowledge as an avenue for respect. It is not to defined your significance by how much complicated information you may know. None of these things bring about Godly wisdom. And none of these things are the key source of respect. They are just there to make one seem over-impressive and verbally confusing. Gain knowledge, but more importantly seek out Godly wisdom!