Are you too smart to follow Christ?

By Dan Delzell, Christian Post Contributor Sunday, January 11, 2026

The Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) famously said, "No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says: He is always convinced that it says what he means." And since Shaw himself refused to take God's Word at face value, he rejected Christianity. He was simply too "smart" to follow Christ.

Multitudes of people over the centuries have assumed their perspective on the Bible and Christianity is correct, even though they refuse to bow in repentance and faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Saul of Tarsus was a highly intelligent anti-Christian zealot until he was converted on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians. During those years when Saul was too "smart" to follow Christ, his eyes were blind to the truth, and his "zeal was not based on knowledge." (Romans 10:2) How does a lost soul like that go on to write 13 or 14 New Testament epistles?

Albert Einstein said, "The measure of intelligence is the ability to change." Well, if that is true, then Paul was one of the most intelligent people of all time. Few people have ever experienced a bigger change than when the terrorist Saul became the Apostle Paul.

Saul met the Creator who invented human intelligence and everything else at the beginning of time (see Colossians 1:15-17). Ironically, many people with a high IQ feel that Jesus is beneath them. They actually seem embarrassed or offended at the mere mention of Christ's name, unless, of course, God's name is being used as profanity. Jesus told His disciples this would happen: "They hated me without reason" (John 15:25).

Intelligent people who resist Christ need to stop believing everything they think. Millions of highly intelligent people have gone to their graves only to learn the truth about Jesus when it was too late to do anything about it.

The Holy Spirit has clearly revealed in Scripture that no one gets a do-over after reaching their final destination. "People are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).

I would like to ask you a personal question. Are you too "smart" to understand why the sinless Savior endured crucifixion on a Roman cross 2000 years ago? Crucifixion is one of the most painful methods of capital punishment the world has ever known. And yet Jesus allowed himself to be crucified in order to pay for your sins and mine. 

One day, you and I will stand before Christ in His courtroom (see 2 Cor. 5:10). This goes for every king and every pauper who has ever lived, including Frederick the Great (1740-1786), who said, "Religion is the idol of the mob; it adores everything it does not understand."

Like Bernard Shaw, Frederick was convinced that his perspective was the correct one. But his views stood in direct opposition to the King of kings. You see, it was Jesus Himself who said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). And so, it was Frederick who clearly didn't understand the true nature of religion.

While man naturally celebrates "the wisdom of the world," (1 Cor. 1:21) "the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom" (1 Cor. 1:25). Paul wrote, "The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor. 1:18). The world exalts human intelligence, but "God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe" (1 Cor. 1:21).

Perhaps you are starting to understand why Jesus told His disciples, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). The only children who are too "smart" to trust the Lord are those who have been taught by their parents to ignore Jesus. But apart from false indoctrination, children enthusiastically sing to the Lord when they learn about the love of Jesus.

Sadly, some parents don't want their children to ever "repent and believe the good news" (Mark 1:15) about Jesus the Messiah. Just as many Palestinian parents teach their young children to hate Jews, a significant number of Jewish parents and atheist gentiles instruct their children to avoid Jesus like the plague.

Billionaire Bill Gates said, "Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose." But it also makes people think they understand the ultimate meaning of success, and what it means to be smart. I agree with Gates that many people who have achieved worldly success start to think they can't lose. That is, until they take their final breath.

So, how does God define success and failure? Jesus said, "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36). Whether you accept Christ as your Savior or reject Him, this profound question from the lips of the Messiah will reverberate within your heart throughout eternity.