Are the Bible and Christian faith opposed to man’s... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5.

Are the Bible and Christian faith opposed to man's intelligence? Not at all!

Mankind is God's masterpiece. He was created in the image of God and was to subject the earth to himself (cf. Genesis 1:27.28). For this purpose God gave him intelligence, talent and strength. With these qualities he has achieved great, even sensational things. With his telescope he has discovered new galaxies, and distinguished the smallest atoms with his microscope. He thinks and researches, combines and programmes - and then? Then he discovers that his life is only a fleeting breath (cf. Job 7:7). Death is a frontier for him, over which his understanding cannot penetrate.

We must be clear on this: all human knowledge and rational analysis is limited. Man cannot know for sure what will happen tomorrow, nor what awaits him in eternity. Therefore, when it is a question of spiritual things, e.g. God and the devil, life and death, heaven and hell, he cannot rely on his understanding or purely human knowledge.

Is our understanding then worthless or a hindrance? Not at all, provided we employ it as a tool and not as a source of information in spiritual matters. On these questions God alone can provide reliable information. It can be found in the Bible, the Word of God. We need both understanding and faith to grasp God's messages. But God Himself and His Word must be our support, not our intelligence.

A time-old question is: "How can a man be righteous before God?" (Job 9:2). The answer is not to be found in our intelligence, but in coming to Christ.

Today's reading: Job 38:1-18 · Acts 18:1-11