Dharius Daniels - I'm Too Smart For This

Today, I teach in series. That means I take a character from the Bible, a book of the Bible, or a theme from the Bible, and I spend several weeks explaining it while attempting to show how this applies to our everyday lives. Last month, we were in the book of Nahum, and we did a series called «A Letter to My Enemies» on how to handle yourself when you’ve been mishandled by others. This month, we’re in the book of Proverbs for a series called «I’m Too Smart for This.» I want us to go to Proverbs chapter 4, beginning at verse number 5. Here’s what Solomon says: «Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.» Do you all see Pastor using the word «she»? The Bible is filled with poetic imagery and even hyperbole. Like in the New Testament, Jesus said that if your hand offends you, cut it off. Do you really think he means to cut your hand off physically? Come on, wave at me. No, that’s not it. He’s saying, «Hey, do whatever you’ve got to do to protect yourself from you.» So here in Proverbs 4, what Solomon is doing is using the imagery of a woman to describe wisdom. He says, «Do not forsake wisdom; she will protect you. Love her; she will watch over you.» The beginning of wisdom is this: «Get wisdom; though it cost you all you have, get understanding. Cherish her, and she will exalt you. Embrace her, and she will honor you. She will give you a garland to grace your head and present you with a glorious crown.» I’m going to stop the reading of the scripture there, and I want to use the series subject as a subject for this sermon today: quite simply, «I’m Too Smart for This.» Clap your hands; 11:45, are you ready for the word? «Too Smart for This.» I want to leap into this lesson with a question. It’s a rhetorical question, one for your reflection. Here it is: Have you ever felt like your place didn’t match your potential? In other words, have you felt like there’s a gap between where you are and where you could be, what you have and what you want, or what you’re doing and what you’ve been called to do? Have you ever looked at who you are, where you are, and what you’re doing and concluded, «I’m too smart for this»? Things are not bad, but they’re not great. Things are better than they used to be, but I know they’re not as good as they can be. «I’m too smart for this.» If this is your sentiment and your story, then there’s a question that begs to be asked and answered, and that question is simply this: When you find yourself in a season or situation where your place and your potential don’t match, what do you do? This is a question that needs to be explored because there is a human tendency to work harder. Although there is a place for hard work, and the Bible advocates for hard work, you can hit a season where hard work doesn’t work. As one of my mentors puts it, hard work only works when you’re working hard at the right thing. I want to know, is there anybody in the room or online who understands how frustrating it is to be working hard on something that’s not working? Very little is more frustrating than working hard on a relationship and the hard work isn’t yielding results, working hard in a career and finding out the hard work isn’t paying off, or working hard spiritually and realizing that the hard work isn’t producing growth. This leads us to an axiom that needs to be embraced and understood by all under the sound of my voice: there are some situations and scenarios that cannot be addressed by working harder. Some situations and scenarios require working smarter. Working harder is using willpower; working smarter is using wisdom. Wisdom will work when willpower won’t. This is the essence of what Solomon articulates in the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 10:10 says, «If the axe is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success.» See, the issue isn’t working harder; if my axe is dull, come on, no matter how much I swing and how much energy I exert, swinging the axe may cause me to sweat, but it doesn’t cause the tree to fall. If I want trees to fall, I’ve got to do more than swing my axe; I’ve got to sharpen my axe. I just want to pause for the cause and say this to somebody at the 11:45 service because it may have prophetic implications for some of you: this is your season not of swinging; this is your season of sharpening. Come on, all of 2024 you’ve been swinging and the trees are still standing. In 2023, you’ve been swinging and the trees are still standing. But I want to know, am I talking to anybody who’s ready for some trees to fall? I said, are you ready for some trees in your mind to fall, some trees in your relationships to fall, some trees in your career to fall, some trees in your home to fall? Well, if I’m ready for trees to fall, I’ve got to do more than swing my axe; I’ve got to sharpen my axe. I’ve got to do more than work harder.