Fools Rush In
Did you know that April Fools’ Day is a holiday that is celebrated in many countries?
The custom of playing practical jokes on friends has been part of our traditional celebration dating as far back as ancient Rome. It is said to be related to the vernal equinox and the coming of spring – the time when nature fools us with the sudden changes between showers and sunshine.
Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “fool” as a person who lacks good judgment or prudence. Another notable characteristic of a fool is that he can sometimes be rather gullible. A few humorous examples of past “tomfooleries” have been well documented.
The BBC television program Panorama ran a famous hoax in 1957, showing the Swiss harvesting spaghetti from trees. A lot of people wanted spaghetti trees of their own.
A report on television about the invention of dehydrated water was broadcast, claiming that all you had to do was shine ultraviolet light onto a powder and it turned into water.
As humorous as some of those past April fool’s jestings are, the Bible has some fairly strong words to say about fools. The book of Ecclesiastes tells us:
“A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.” (Ecclesiastes 7:4 NLT)
So too, the Book of Proverbs records many of the unfortunate plights of the foolish.
A fool’s lips bring strife, and his mouth invites a flogging. (Proverbs 18:6).
Fools die for lack of sense. (Proverbs 10:21).
Honor is not fitting for a fool. (Proverbs 26:1)
A fool is hotheaded and reckless (Proverbs 14:16).
Fools mock at making amends for sin. (Proverbs 14:9)
But the most disturbing words spoken in Scripture about a fool are found in the Book of Psalms when it says:
“The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.” (Psalm 14:1)
For God said to [the rich man], ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God. (Luke 12:20-21)
Before we go around condemning others, we must humbly admit that we all (at one time or another) have played the fool. We have fallen victim to doing foolish and unwise things. The result? Our lives had become enmeshed in the consequences of the domino effect of reaping that which we had sown.
So Lord, our prayer to you is, “Please help us to always be wise in all that we do and in all that we say,” because your word tells us:
The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception. (Proverbs 14:8).
The Foolish Wise Man
By: Greg Laurie, crosswalk.com
I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind. – (Ecclesiastes 1:14)
When Solomon set out to research the roots of human behavior, he started by getting the finest education available in his day. Despite that fantastic education, however, there was still an emptiness in his life. He wrote, “So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:17). Why was that? Because Solomon sought wisdom without God, and that left him empty. It always will.
Academic pursuit wasn’t doing it for Solomon, so he decided to check his brains at the door and just party. He concluded, “Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?” (Ecclesiastes 2:2). Then Solomon became a wine connoisseur and got into every kind of alcoholic drink he could think of. But he saw how empty that was too.
Solomon shifted gears again. With unlimited resources at his disposal, he decided build the coolest palaces and the most lavish homes ever seen. But even that, he concluded, was empty.
Like Solomon, so many people today think God doesn’t know what He’s talking about. They have to go out and learn everything the hard way. How many more people will have to make this mistake? How many more marriages will be destroyed? How many more children will be deprived of both parents? How many more lives will be destroyed by substance abuse? How many more people will choose to simply chase after material things and never think of others?
Don’t waste your life as Solomon did. He self-destructed, but in the end he came around. That is why he had something to say to all of us in Ecclesiastes. It is his account of what he learned the hard way. Solomon was indeed the foolish wise man.
God Doesn’t Play Red Light, Green Light
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:2-5 (ESV)
I hear a lot of people in faith communities talking about doors, like God is a concierge at an apartment building. “He opened the door” or “He closed the door” gets tossed around a lot. Yet I’ve come to realize that although God orders all our steps, we have agency over the moves we decide to make, too.
We turn to God for answers, direction and purpose in our lives, and He gives us Jesus all over again. Our faith isn’t a puzzle to be solved, it’s a path to be followed. But how?
Sure, I get the concept about open and closed doors. I’m just not sure I accept the premise that God is playing “red light, green light” games, telling us to advance or go back, in every situation.
While I do think God cares intimately about our hearts and ambitions when they’re His, I don’t think He’s necessarily the guy standing at the door, opening and closing it. If you’re a musician and sing bad songs, I wouldn’t be too quick to say “God shut the door on my career.” It’s a hard truth, but maybe it’s time to get better at singing.
If you’re an author like me and write uninspiring words, as has happened often to me, let’s aim to bring it to Jesus and not blame Him for it. What I’m saying is that it’s easy to conjure up divine intervention for poor performance. Let’s not fall for it. And instead, we can get busy getting better.
Does God engage in our lives in unseen ways? Certainly. Who knows how many guardian angels have put themselves between you and a bad outcome? Hitting a couple of road bumps doesn’t always mean God is trying to send a secret, encrypted message. Maybe what we tried just didn’t work out the way we hoped.
What I’ve come to really believe is that in God’s economy, nothing is ever wasted. Not our pain, nor our disappointments, nor our setbacks. These are tools that can be used later as a recipe for our best work. Quit throwing the “batter” away.
Today’s key verse says it best. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:2-5).
Thankfully, God isn’t tapping His pencil on a scorecard, scrutinizing our every move until we get it right. He is with us while we navigate life’s difficulties. We all mess up — often. So let’s keep moving ahead. With our eyes on Jesus rather than caring how we look to everyone else. If we keep it about Jesus, He promised we’d come to know more about Him while we’re figuring out a few more things about ourselves.
Some things we try will work; others won’t. It’s that simple. So, I’m making it my goal to learn what I can from the successes or setbacks and move on.
Our failures don’t name us — God does. If you’re not hearing the name “beloved” whispered over your shoulder when you have a major face-plant or a setback, just remember, it’s not Jesus doing the talking.
God pleading for saints, and saints pleading for God
By: Charles Spurgion
‘O Lord, thou has pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.’ Lamentations 3:58
Suggested Further Reading: Psalm 126:1–6
A man went to preach for seven summers on the village green, and good was done. Joseph sometimes listened to the preacher, but he remained as hard as ever. A certain John who had felt the power of truth, worked with him in the barn, and one day, between the strokes of the flail, John spoke a word for truth and for God, but Joseph laughed at him. Now, John was very sensitive, and his whole soul was filled with grief at Joseph’s banter; so after he had spoken, he turned to the corner of the barn and hid his face, while a flood of tears came streaming from his eyes. He wiped them away with the corner of his smock-frock, and came back to his flail; but Joseph had noticed the tears though the other tried to hide them; and what argument could not do, those tears through God the Holy Spirit did effectually, for Joseph thought, ‘What! does John care for my soul, and weep for my soul? then it is time I should care and weep for it too.’ Beloved, witness thus for Christ! Be it mine to weep for the sins of the times, and prophesy against them. Be it yours in your own private walk and conversation to rebuke private sin; and by your loving earnestness to make Jesus Christ dear to many souls! Tell them that Jesus Christ came to save sinners; that he is able to save to the uttermost all who come to him, and that ‘whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life;’ and in this way you shall plead the cause of God, who has pleaded the causes of your soul.
For meditation: Apparently insignificant people often have a disproportionately significant role to play in God’s work. The curing of Naaman’s leprosy resulted from his obedience to the word of the famous prophet Elisha (2 Kings 5:10,14); but this would not have happened without him being invited by a little maid (2 Kings 5:2–4) and being followed up by his servants (2 Kings 5:13) after he had initially poured scorn upon Elisha’s message (2 Kings 5:11–12).