ARE YOU A FOOL?

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:1-6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Are you a fool?

Ask someone that question and you’re most likely to face an angry response from a person feeling offended. Face it, no one would like to be called a fool. One look at the dictionary would give us some clues as to why.

fool - noun \’fül\ - a person lacking in judgment or prudence, a harmlessly deranged person,  or one lacking in common powers of understanding.

Not exactly a description that the average person would embrace, right?

And yet, it may be truer than we want to admit. Although it hurts to hear the noun used to describe us, more often than not, it is accurate, particularly when the light of scripture is added to the dictionary definition.

For look at the single verse in our devotion today:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

One simple verse but it speaks volumes about life and how our spiritual attitude can define our intellectual level within it.

From a worldly perspective, an intellect is someone who is educated, one who has most probably went to college and earned a degree, ever aspiring to know all there is to know about their area of interest. The more one knows, the more they are seen as a subject matter expert and respected for not only what they have to say in their area of specialty but in all things in general. For surely someone who has invested so much time to be learned will be a fount of wisdom for all things. After all, they are far more an advanced thinker than the average person.

As we look back to the seventh verse of Proverbs, Chapter 1, we find a stark contradiction to the world view as to who is knowledgeable and who is foolish. For as we see, the fear of the Lord is where we begin to gain true knowledge and wisdom, not some college classroom or textbook or professor. No, it starts with turning to the One who is knowledge and wisdom, the only One who can truly impart it on us.

Realizing this results in turning to the Lord and the Lord alone for all guidance and knowledge regarding life and how we should understand and live it.  Those who pay the Lord His due, giving to Him all the honor, glory, and reverence He deserves. They choose righteousness and direction toward that end over the world and its sinfulness. And in doing so, they ensure they will never be able to be seen as fools. This is because they are the ones in the know, the ones who possess knowledge and wisdom, not from their own intellect, but rather from the very heart and soul of God Himself.

Conversely, a fool despises true wisdom and knowledge by turning from God and relying on themselves or others to learn about life and their place in it. They conscientiously decide to reject God, His Spirit, and His holy word. They opt to shun the Lord and, in doing so, disrespect His authority.

With this, sadly we live in a world where fools abound and the most troubling part about it is that they don’t even realize it. If you are in this category, I implore you today to be convicted by this word of God and turn from foolishness to intelligence and wisdom, leaning not on your own understanding but rather the perfect knowledge and wisdom found in the Lord and the Lord alone.

He stands ready to receive you, open your eyes to His truth, and enlighten you with His knowledge in a way you have never experienced in your worldly pursuits.

Only a fool would reject Him and I pray you aren’t counted in that number today.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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