Dictionary definition of “fool” …One who is destitute of reason, or the common powers of understanding; an idiot.
In the day and age in which we live the word fool is used very loosely. We can use the word fool and be talking to a friend, just kind of joking with them, but in the Bible days the word fool was a very strong word and it was not taken lightly.
I suppose if we think of a fool, we may have a lot of different things come to our mind. In this life I have seen many foolish things and sadly, I have done many foolish things. There are people that I would say we're foolish and I'm sure there are people who would say I am foolish. Who’s fool you are is really a question of . . . . PERSPECTIVE.
A story comes to mind that explains what I'm trying to get across. I've been in the army twice: One time as a “water purification specialist” and another time as a “Canon crew member, Artillery”. There is a big difference between the lifestyles of these two jobs. When I was stationed in Germany as the Water Purification specialist we always had comfortable accommodations like tents, cots ect (It is not that way in a combat arms job) and always by a river, lake or a pond and quite frankly we were very well known to have a fishing pole in our gear since we were by the water. During one training exercise they decided we needed some refresher with basic soldier skills, so we all had to set up a defensive fighting position. We had to dig several foxholes to military specifications. Myself and a Sergeant went around and were inspecting them and we came to the foxhole that a soldier named “South” had dug. Before we go any further I need to tell you a little background on South. He would do very strange things. He would do things that were foolish in just about anybody's eyes. He had been sent, and tested several times to see if he was even smart enough to be in the military. The only problem is every time he got tested his IQ always came back extremely high, in the genius level. Let's just say that South thought differently than most people. Anyways we pulled up to a foxhole that South had been digging and I will try to describe what we found. I walked up to the foxhole and I looked down into it and South was steadily digging. He had dug the foxhole too deep. When he looked up at me out of the foxhole that he was still digging, he was about a foot shorter than the foxhole. I could not believe what I was seeing. I said, “South what are you doing” and he said “I'm digging a foxhole”. So we kindly corrected him and said the foxhole needs to be only as deep as his armpits, so put some of the dirt back in the hole. We asked him if he understood and he said “Oh yeah no problem Sarge”. We told him to make the corrections to his foxhole and then to dig an alternate fighting position. We left and made the rounds inspecting other people and we came back to check the foxhole situation with South and the site we saw was even more comedic than the first one. He had made the corrections to his first foxhole and then dug a second foxhole as an alternate fighting position. The biggest miracle was how the walls stood up between the two foxholes. He had dug the alternate fighting position less than two feet behind the first fighting position. We were beside ourselves! We could not believe what we were seeing and we asked him “what are you doing?" and this was his reply, “I just finished digging my alternate fighting position and that way if I get overrun in the first foxhole, I can jump right back into this one and be ready to go.”
Now that's pretty foolish, I could tell you “south” stories all day. My question in this little booklet is this, “does anyone consider you a fool?” I'm sure in somebody's opinion, the answer would have to be yes but the only real question is who is it that considers you a fool? The biggest consideration and concern should be who God considers a fool. In God’s Word He clearly lists a few different “fools”. We are going to look at four of them..
1st YOU CAN BE A FOOL BY ---- YOUR OWN DECLARATION.
Psalm 14:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. . . . Psalm 53:1 …The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. . . .
I will never forget a story I heard many years ago about somebody that was saying there is no God. The person they were talking to said how big a fool are you? God says you're a fool if you say that in your heart and you done gone and blabbed it out your mouth!
Psalm 19:1 ….The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Anything that is created has a creator, there is just no way of getting around that. I heard the little illustration many years ago that made sense to me. To believe in evolution (creation from nothing) would be about as believable as thinking that a tornado could go through a junkyard and leave a Boeing 747 Jet Airplane. It would be as believable as smashing up a bunch of broken watches, throwing them in a box, shaking for a long time and out comes a Rolex. My friend, you are not an evolved animal, you are a special creation of God. The atheist lives his life trying to prove God wrong, and the foolish thing about this is, he is arguing against something/someone that he claims doesn't even exist! There is absolutely zero scientific proof of evolution. There are a lot of written theories but there ain't no proof. There are countless books about the “missing link” between apes and man . . but no proof of this supposed missing link. At the end of the day, God says a man is a fool that says there is no God. The evidence is overwhelming that speaks of creation and a creator. I know there are many that say to believe in God and a Creator is faith and it is, but there is much more reason for my faith that there is a God in heaven that created all things including me, than the faith it takes to believe that we used to be monkeys. Don't be a fool in God's eyes.
2nd YOU CAN BE A FOOL BY --- LIVING FOR THIS WORLD.
Luke 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
Luke 12:20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
It has always amazed me that in verse 15 above Jesus clearly says what life is not, yet that is what most people live for . . . a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. There's a bumper sticker that says “the one with the most toys at the end wins” and sadly there are many believers that live a foolish life, living for . . . more and more and more.
When I was in the military, I spent six months driving around Texas doing funerals as a part of the military honor guard. When I was a pastor I did several funerals and there is one thing that is consistent in all of these funerals: not one time did the Hurst pull up with a u-haul behind it. Friend you cannot take it with you when you go. Job 1:21 …, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: . . .
Many years ago I learned a valuable lesson, and that is the number of times I heard of people, at the end of their life, speaking the same words ….. they wished they had done more for God while they had the chance. So many people with all the goods of this world that realize at the end of life they lived for the wrong thing. 1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Below is my life verse.
Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3rd YOU CAN BE A FOOL BY --- CLAIMING TO BE WISE.
Now I was very clear in the beginning, that I suppose that everyone is a fool in somebody's eyes. What I'm pointing out are the things that God says “He” considers foolish. So far we have seen that God says it is foolish to live denying Him and that it is foolish to live for this world's goods instead of God. Many people will rebel against all that, lash out and call living for God foolish. Regardless of the proofs that are given to them. There are many people that hear the gospel message of what God has for them and instead of turning to God they live trying to deny it and prove God wrong.
Romans 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
What the verse above says is kind of like compound interest. Compound interest will grow faster than regular interest. God says people that deny him even though they have heard of Him will have their heart that is foolish, gets darkened and then grows more and more deceived. Yet the whole time they are convinced that they are the wisest of all, “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,”
1Cor 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. Like I said throughout this little booklet, everyone is a fool in someone's eyes, and everyone is wise in someone's eyes. The thing to decide is whose perspective matters? Is it this world's opinion or God's opinion that is important? PERSPECTIVE.
You see God's view of wisdom is different from this world's view of wisdom. I have heard arguments against God and against the Bible, and at the end of the day it is always someone that is setting themselves up to be the “all knowing”, “wiser than everybody else” and somehow or another they have figured out what the whole world does not know. Like this verse talks about . . . Proverbs 26:12 Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him. It is never wise to proclaim yourself wise.
4th YOU CAN BE A FOOL FOR CHRIST’S SAKE.
1 Corinthians 4:9 For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.
A spectacle is someone who is put on exhibition in order to be watched and made fun of. A good example of this is given in the life of Samson. At the end of his life, they brought him out for entertainment. To be able to laugh and scorn and make him an example (in their eyes) of the fool that follows God. You could read the story in Judges 16
This world is filled with so many people that have this world's wisdom. Then they hear the message of God’s love for them, they hear of Jesus Christ dying in their place as proof of that love. But what happens is that they would have to admit that their wisdom is inferior to God's wisdom. That would be repenting and admitting that their way was the foolish way. Below are a few verses taken out of Paul's message to a bunch of very intellectual people and it talks about their responses towards the simple message of the gospel. The gospel is the fact that Jesus Christ came into this world as an example of God's love for us. He died in our place, was buried and rose again the third day (see 1 Cor 15:1-5).
Acts 17:18 Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.
Acts 17:32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
Acts 17:34 Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed:...
The response is always the same. There will be those who consider the message foolish, and this world will applaud them. 1 Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. . There will be those that will listen, consider and weigh the evidence. Acts 17:11 . . .that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. There will be those that see the truth of the gospel message and turn to God. I learned a long time ago that when people's responses aren't what I desire, I do not take offense. Messengers of the gospel have been treated with derision as long as the gospel has been being preached.
In the text below the Apostle Paul has been arrested and going through the court systems of their day and he gets a chance to stand before what we would think of as a judge and he takes the opportunity to speak to him of his soul's condition and need of a Savior. Look real closely at what the text says after Paul talks to him about the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Don't hesitate to back up and read the whole chapter, Acts 26.
Acts 26:24. . . Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. 25 But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. 26 For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. 28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. 29 And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.
When I read the Bible, I try to picture in my mind what is going on. What goes on in the scene that we just read about is amazing. Paul witnesses the gospel of Christ to this man and the man laughs and calls him a fool, crazy, that's what “mad” means. Paul gives the example of what is to be done when people call the child of God a fool, and that is just to persist forward with the message. Not everyone is going to receive the message of the Gospel just as King Agrippa gave the saddest response that there is, “almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian”.
I suppose in my own personal life if one “fool” infuriates me, it is the one that is wise in this world and is convinced in their mind that they are wiser than the God of heaven that has saved and changed so many countless lives. There are countless testimonies in the lives of believers that everything the Gospel says is true. God does love us and Jesus Christ is the proof. Consider what Paul writes below.
1 Corinthians 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. The verse above gives the reality of what will happen. There are people who will persist to the end without any change. In their supreme wisdom they think they are wiser than God, but at the end of the day all will stand before God and as we go into eternity. I think the sentiment of the verse above will be expressed. You see, it always seems to me that the one that screams out against God, but when we stand before Him all mouths will be shut. There's a verse that comes to mind in regards to this Jesus told a parable.
Luke 12:16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Isn't it ironic that if we live by God's wisdom, the world calls us a fool but God, who created all things, calls us wise. As I wrote in the beginning of this booklet, the question is . . . whose fool will you be? A fool in the eyes of God or a fool in the eyes of this world?
I never know who will read this, maybe you have never realized that God loves you and that God allowed His son Jesus Christ to die in our place on the cross. God waits for us to come to Him in repentance from our sin and by faith accept that eternal gift. If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, I invite you to do so now. It is as simple as praying, from the heart, a simple prayer.
Lord, I know I have sinned and I realize that you died in my place to pay for my sins. I repent of my sin and accept you as my personal Saviour. Thank you Lord for saving me!