The Bible has, surprisingly, a lot to say about being a fool. In the Old Testament we are told many things about what kind of person a fool is. They:
Despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)
Bring grief to their mother. (Proverbs 10:1)
Utter slander. (Proverbs 10: 18)
Are reckless and careless. (Proverbs 14: 16)
Have a hasty temper. (Proverbs 14: 29)
Despise their father's instructions. (Proverbs 15:5)
Don't care about knowledge but just want to say what they think. (Proverbs 18:2)
Have lips that invite a fight. (Proverbs 18: 6)
Enjoy quarreling. (Proverbs 20:3)
Say what they think, while a wise person holds back. (Proverbs 28:11)
Say in their heart, "There is no God." (Psalm 14:1)
There is more, much more but the general theme is the same. They don't listen to others, they are quick tempered, they talk too much, they don't believe in God, they are angry, they don't like to be instructed or listen to people who know more than they do.
Weakness Shames The World
In the New Testament, Paul says in I Corinthians 1: 27 that God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He tells us that God chose weak thinks to shame the mighty.
Indeed, through the power of the Holy Spirit working in poor, uneducated men, men that the world would have considered to be foolish; Christianity spread throughout the known world. Jesus showed the educated and powerful that, by dying willingly on a Roman cross, weakness would put the world to shame. God continues to use those who have no power in themselves to show the world the one true power - Christ our Lord.
The Rich Fool
In Luke 12: 13-21 we read the parable of the rich fool. He stores up more and more riches for himself only to die, lose his money, and be declared a fool. He was a fool because he did not use his riches to bless the lives of others. He only wanted more for himself.
Foolish and Wise Virgins
In Matthew 25: 1-13 our Lord has yet another parable about foolishness. The wise virgins took oil with their lamps to be prepared for their bridegroom coming in the night but the foolish virgins did not. While the foolish ones were away trying to buy oil at the last second, the bridegroom arrived, and since they were gone, they were not invited to the wedding. His point being that we must be ready at all times for His (our bridegroom's) return.
To The Perishing The Cross Is Foolishness
Writing in I Corinthians 1:18 Paul explains that to those who are perishing the cross is foolishness but for Christians it is quite the opposite. The cross is the power of God. For the lost the message of Jesus and the cross is ridiculous. They have no understanding and want none. They are complacent. But when we encounter God, and His Spirit fills us, we understand that the cross IS the power of God. Paul continues in I Corinthians 2: 14 to say this:
"But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
Without God in your life all of this "Christianity stuff" seems like words on a page. Words written 2,000 years ago that don't apply to today. The words of a foolish group of people believing that a carpenter was God, sent to die and be resurrected for the sins of the world. Only through the Holy Spirit can these precious words of salvation be understood. All of our wise talk will convince no one of the truth of the cross. Only the Holy Spirit can do that.
We Once Were Foolish
Titus tells us in chapter 3 verse 3 that we were once foolish, before we became a Christian.
Since we were once foolish, we are to be gentle, humble and peaceable when we talk with non-believers. We don't boast about being wise. Whatever we have become is only by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us.
A Fool Or A Fool For Christ
To be a fool for Christ is to willingly accept being made fun of, accept persecution, accept being called a fool and an idiot. To be a fool for Christ is to love others more than yourself, to forgive those who hate you, to do things that Christ calls us to do whether they seem to make sense to us or not, to reach out and touch others for God, but not in our own wisdom.
"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12: 10
Why is Paul strong? Because he knows that in his weakness all he can rely on is God. So, it may seem foolish to the world to "take pleasure" in bad things, but when it is for the sake of Christ it will make us stronger than we can imagine.
Let us embrace the cross, the very thing the world views as foolishness, so we can be made perfect in weakness.
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