The fool hath said in his heart,
There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is
none that doeth good. (Psalm 14:1 KJV)
In the Word of God we can
find a number of contrasts: good fruit and bad fruit; good trees and bad trees;
wise men and foolish men. Fools who say
God does not exist and fools for Christ.
God’s Word has much to say
about foolishness and wisdom. To the
world, following hard after God can appear to be absolute foolishness. However, God calls those who do not believe
He exists fools.
The Hebrew word for fool is nabal, meaning “foolish or senseless.”[1] It can also mean “disgrace or dishonor.”[2]
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| Photo Credit C. Meissner |
An example in the Old
Testament of foolish thinking and behavior contrasted with wise thinking and
behavior is found in the stories of David before he became king of Israel. Foolish thinking leads to Nabal’s (his name
means fool) behavior towards David and his men (see 1 Samuel 25:28-39). Ultimately, God struck down Nabal because of
his hard heart.
In contrast, Nabal’s wife,
Abigail, acted wisely, as did David.
Abigail’s wisdom to send a “peace offering” prevented David from taking
vengeance into his own hands. God got
vengeance on Nabal in His own time and way.
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| Photo Credit C. Meissner |
Sheer arrogance can lead us
down paths that go away from God and the best He has for us—an arrogance that
says, “we know better” or “there is no God”.
(I have gone down paths that God did not want me to go down, because the
“cost” was too great. However, I found
that I paid an even greater cost than I would have paid had I followed God’s
desire.) How this behavior must pain
God’s heart! Ultimately, it brings great
pain to us and those around us. Fools in
the spiritual sense are spiritually blind—it has nothing to do with their
intellect.[3]
While Jesus walked on the
earth and had interactions with many people; we can see where the very ones who
should have known Him (the Pharisees) completely missed Him due to their
spiritual blindness (Jesus called them fools); while the people rejected by the
Pharisees (sinners of various types) saw who Jesus was (the Messiah) and
flocked to Him in droves.
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| Photo Credit P. Whitlach |
Yet there is a better way, a
better choice to make! What is that
choice? You can say “yes” to God who has
already said “yes” to you. In the
world’s eyes it will appear utterly foolish—Paul called himself a fool for
Christ (see 1 Corinthians 4:10)—however, we will find true life and living not
possible in any other way.
What have you decided? Foolishly rejecting God now has horrific
consequences for eternity. God loves you
more than you can imagine; He desires for no one to perish (see 2 Peter 3:9).
Living for Christ now will
mean being misunderstood at times or being rejected or marginalized. Rightly living for Christ can lead to
persecution; in fact, Scriptures seem to imply that something is “wrong” if
persecution does not happen (see 1 Peter 4:12-14).
Compromising with the world
is a dangerous choice! It damages our
witness. If we look and act like the
world, why would people want a relationship with Jesus?
Many years ago, I said “yes”
to Jesus. This decision has made all the
difference! While I have not yet faced
persecution like my Brothers and Sisters face in other parts of the world, I
have been misunderstood, rejected. My
prayer is that when the day comes, I will remain faithful and give my life for
Jesus.
I will happily be a fool for
Christ! What about you?
Please join with me in
prayer:
Lord, grant us godly
wisdom to walk in the way that leads to life in You. Empower us to stand the onslaught of the
world and be fools for Christ. Place
within us Your heart for those who foolishly say You do not exist. Free us to seek You above the things of this
world. Thank You for all that You do for
us each day. In Jesus’ Name, we
pray. Amen.
From My Heart to Yours,
Kim
Yes! I'm a very happy fool for Christ!
ReplyDeleteTerrific post, Kim, and a great reminder that we cannot have one foot in the world and the other in heaven to truly be living witnesses to God's love.
Love and blessings!
Martha, It's amazing to be a fool for Christ isn't it? I'm glad you liked the post; it wasn't the easiest to write due to content.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Hi Kim! Imagine having a name that meant 'fool'? I feel a little bad for Nabal. Can't you just hear the taunts in the school yard?
ReplyDeleteI truly want to be a fool for the Lord, yes I do. It does mean that I have to let go of all those thoughts of control I think I have. It's hard to do that sometimes. But as you say, to choose myself is being a true fool, and the consequences are always less than desirable. May God increase my faith so that I can give myself to him totally.
Have a wonderful weekend Kim! Thank you for your kind words on FB.
Ceil
Hi Ceil, You make a great point about Nabal's name. (With my last name, I've gotten grief myself.) Yes, may God increase our faith so we can give ourselves totally to Him.
DeleteYou have a wonderful weekend, too, Ceil! You're welcome for the kind words on FB.
Blessings!
Kim