Jeremiah 9:23-24 Thus said the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might… Have you ever seen a boy blow up a bladder? It has not grown — it is puffed up! It has become big, but it is filled with wind, as a pin will demonstrate. Now, the apostle says, knowledge blows a man up, and makes him look big, so he seems to himself to be large. Love is the only thing that builds him up. The one swells him out, so that he appears greater than he really is. The other develops him by actual increase. The one bloats and the other builds him. The apostle's declaration is, that the mere realm of ideas, the simple sphere of knowledge, tends to produce among men immense flabation, and a sense of importance, while love, the Spirit of Christ, is the thing which augments men, enlarges them, strengthens them, with foundations downward and a superstructure upward. (H. W. Beecher.) Parallel Verses KJV: Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: |
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