Diogenes or Jesus?

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” (1 Corinthians 3.16-20)

When my daughter was looking at colleges, she was interested in Pomona College in California. On our visit we were driving around the town and pulled up behind an unusual car. It was old, beat up, and it had a sign on the back window made with metallic, stick-on letters which read: Diogenes Is My Co-Pilot. I laughed when I saw that! Diogenes was a philosopher who lived in Corinth about three hundred years before Paul arrived to preach the Gospel there. Of all the Greek philosophers, he's one of my favorites because I think he got one thing right: Life on earth is futile. He used to walk around with a lantern in the middle of the day. People would ask, "What are you looking for Diogenes?" "An honest man," he would reply. He lived in a barrel like a dog, and he founded the school of Cynicism. "Cynic" comes from the Greek word for "dog." 

Paul would have agreed, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile." That's why Paul came to Corinth to bring a better world-life view: "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15.3-4). The problem with the philosophies of the world is that they don't know what to do about sin. Sin eats away and destroys everything good. It steers us away from God, the source of life itself. Ultimate happiness is realizing that God, the Creator of the universe, actually loves us. His love overcomes our sin and all the terrible effects of sin. Futility is replaced with purpose - to love God and the people God created. Life without God is futile. Life with God is beautiful. God is my co-pilot!