Man knows but little, yet he seems to advertise as if he knows everything. Such is the arrogance of the fallen man…just like his father, the prince of darkness. The wiseman Solomon, writing in Ecclesiastes 11:5, bursts the human bubble of boasting and pride.
– “5 As you do not know what is the way of the wind, Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.” – Ecclesiastes 11:5
David, the psalmist, writing in Psalm 8, has these words that makes it clear what is our standing before God Almighty, the God of all creation.
– “3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?” – Psalms 8:3-4
Job, expresses his views about man in these words…
– “17 “What is man, that You should exalt him, That You should set Your heart on him,” – Job 7:17
The Word of God further expounds the finiteness of humans, through David in these words…
– “3 LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him? 4 Man is like a breath; His days are like a passing shadow.” – Psalms 144:3-4
Dear brothers and sisters, it is important that we have a proper perspective of human beings,and the human state. Only when we know, and realise, the true state of man, can we fully and properly appreciate God, His majesty, and His grace and mercy towards us.
What do we see, when we see this world and the human beings? Do we see the achievements and progress that man had made? Be careful, for what we see will influence what we think and believe. Even though materially, man had made progress, yet, upon closer scrutiny, man has totally degraded himself.
– “[During the 20th century] … 170 million men, women, and children have been shot, beaten, tortured, knifed, burned, starved, frozen, crushed, or worked to death; buried alive, drowned, hung, bombed, or killed in any other of the myriad ways governments have inflicted death on unarmed, helpless citizens and foreigners.” – Rudolph Rummel
May the LORD help us to see things with clarity. Even so the LORD help us.
"Man’s life is fragile and temporary. His breath is in his nostrils, ready to stop at any moment. With all our boastings and with all our ingenuity and marvellous inventions, man is but a poor, vain creature. In all our littleness and helplessness we must turn away from the answers of men and ask for the breath of God."