The pursuit of wisdom

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” Colossians 2:8
There are many philosophies that Christians can get caught up in – both with of a spiritual flavour and those of  worldly pursuits. The word ‘philosophy’ derives from ‘philo’, to love, and ‘sophos’, wisdom. Therefore philosophy is a love or pursuit of wisdom.
We are told in the Scripture that there are two kinds of wisdom: the wisdom that comes from God (Prov. 9:10, 1 Cor. 2:6-7, etc.) and the wisdom of man. We are told that man’s wisdom is foolishness to God (1 Cor. 1:25), and conversely, God’s wisdom is foolishness to unsaved man (1 Cor. 2:14).
I’m not saying that Christians should refrain from pursuing education. It’s not wrong for a Christian to go to university, for example. But it’s when we get caught up in arguments about abstract things, worldviews, the meaning of life... an unsaved person and a Christian approach these things from entirely different perspectives. We will never win anyone to Christ through persuasive debate. It is the Holy Spirit who must convict them of their sin, and open their heart to receive Christ as their Saviour. And similarly, we mustn’t spend all our time studying how people think – Paul calls this ‘hollow and deceptive’. If we do this, and neglect our study of the Word of God, we will get sucked in and taken captive. Worldly wisdom offers nice ideas but little substance. But God’s wisdom offers power and salvation. Pursue that.