There’s Foolishness – and Then There’s Real Folly

Here we are on April Fool’s Day, the annual day when we can engage in telling folks their shoes are untied – when they’re wearing loafers or leather sandals. Or telling some guy his zipper’s down, when it’s not. “April Fool’s!” 

 

No one knows for certain how and when this custom of carrying out practical jokes and pranks began, but it likely dates back at least several centuries. Seems no generation has lacked for having its share of fools and foolishness. There’s nothing wrong with good-natured trickery, but we need to understand that folly is a devastating year-round pastime for some people.

 

Reading the Bible, we find no mention of April Fool’s Day. But the Scriptures have much to say about fools and folly. The Proverbs, for example, are replete with warnings against the perils of foolishness. Exhortations start with the book’s first chapter: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

 

There’s an admonition not to foolishly neglect work that must be done: “How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man” (Proverbs 6:10-11).

 

We find folly and its enticements personified in a very sober manner: “The woman Folly is loud; she is undisciplined and without knowledge. She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way. ‘Let all who are simple come in here!’ she says to those who lack judgment…. But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave” (Proverbs 9:13-18).

 

Numerous other examples are woven throughout Proverbs, but here are just a hardful:

“Every prudent man acts out of knowledge, but a fool exposes his folly” (Proverbs 13:16).

“He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20).

“The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down” (Proverbs 14:1).

“A fool’s talk brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them” (Proverbs 14:3).

“The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception” (Proverbs 14:8). 

“A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions” (Proverbs 18:2).

 

I think you get the idea. The Word of God overflows with cautions against foolish thinking and behavior. If we desire to experience a rewarding, fulfilling life, we’re advised to pursue wisdom and avoid folly.

 

But perhaps its strongest admonition of all is found in the Psalms, focusing on the importance of faith in God. King David, who wrote many of the Psalms, declared: 

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Psalm 14:1-3). 

 

Apparently, the king of Israel didn’t want this to be overlooked. In case the reader might have scanned over those verses and missed the urgency of the message, it’s repeated almost word for word later in Psalm 53:1-3.

 

So, on this April Fool’s Day, some of us will be duped by harmless, no malice of intent pranks. Ha, ha! But the foolishness of rejecting God – pridefully refusing to consider, much less accept, His loving offer of forgiveness and redemption through Jesus Christ – is no laughing matter.

 

We read about this in the first chapter of Romans: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them…. For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools…” (Romans 1:18-25).

These words might seem harsh, but they assert that God is dead serious about this. There’s no harm in a silly April Fool’s prank, but to foolishly rebel against the Lord is a matter of eternal consequence. 

Decision-Making and the Will of God

Have you ever thought about how many decisions we make during a lifetime? Or even over the course of a single day?

 

Probably not, because we’re too busy making decisions to bother tabulating how many we’ve made. But as a speaker recently reminded me, from the time we reach high school, life becomes an endless parade of one decision after another.

 

When we’re kids, the ‘decisions’ we make are more like impulses: Which toy to play with. Whether to eat the food Mom puts in front of us. Whether to read a book or play a video game on our tablet. Whether to clean up our room as we’re told. At that stage of life, we don’t really calculate the significance or consequences of what we do. It’s simply a matter of ‘I want to’ or ‘I don’t want to.’

Decisions – and the decision-making process – take on much more gravity when we reach the high school level. In high school we start to discover and confirm our interests. We decide whether to try out for sports – and which ones. Or we can opt for things like band, which I did. Being in our school marching, concert and dance bands were the highlights of my time at ole Franklin High.

 

As a freshman, being on the college-prep track, I had to choose things like which foreign language to study and which elective subjects to take. I chose Latin and Spanish, which turned out to be very beneficial for my writing career – even though I didn’t realize it then. I also took a year of personal typing, another serendipitous decision that would prove extremely useful.

 

From high school, our decisions become more numerous and complex. Should I go to college? And if so, which one? What should I major in? If I don’t go to college, which line of work should I pursue? We make decisions about where to live, whether to accept a job offer, which car to buy, whether we’re on the right career path, whether we should get married (and to whom), whether we should have children (and when)?

 

Before we know it, we’ve made thousands of decisions, some with very little thought but others we agonized over, realizing they could have long-term ramifications.

 

How are we to master this lifelong process of decision-making? I’m reminded of the young man who asked his mentor, “How do you make good decisions?” The mentor answered, “Through experience.” “How do I gain experience?” the protégé asked. His mentor smiled and replied, “By making bad decisions.”

 

No one wants to make bad decisions, but inevitably we will. Our hope is that the consequences of bad decisions aren’t too serious and can be remedied.

 

There are many perspectives on how to make decisions. For instance, the late New York Yankees catcher and ‘sage’ Yogi Berra suggested to someone, “If you find a fork in the road, take it.” Poet Robert Frost, in “The Road Not Taken,” one of his best-known poems, wrote about “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

 

Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ wrestle with decision-making from a different angle. We ask, “What is God’s will?” reasoning that if God is omniscient – all-knowing – then it would be a good idea to know what He expects of us. The problem is, His will isn’t always clear, especially in regard to specific options we’re considering.

 

For instance, nowhere in the Scriptures does it say, “Go to XYZ College,” or “Work for Such-and-Such Company.” The Bible doesn’t tell us which car to drive. Nor does it specify the name of the person we should marry.

 

However, the Word of God does provide us with sound principles to follow for making crucial decisions. If I’m wondering, “What flavor ice cream cone should I buy?” I’m pretty sure God would say, “Makes no difference to Me. You choose.” But if we’re weighing whether to attend a party where we know there will be an abundance of alcohol and raucous behavior, even a cursory look at the Scriptures makes clear what His will is. We’re told in 1 Thessalonians 4:37, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified…. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.”

 

In some cases, God’s will couldn’t be more obvious. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, for example, we’re told, “in everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” In other words, whether we find ourselves in desirable or undesirable circumstances, we’re to be thankful for them, trusting God is working through them for our ultimate good.

 

The apostle Peter admonished, “It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil” (1 Peter 3:17). We will encounter suffering in this life. There’s no question about that. But we should make certain when suffering comes, we haven’t brought it on ourselves. That’s God’s will.

 

If we want to learn how to make good decisions – and avoid making bad ones – there’s no better source for counsel than God’s Word. Whether it’s learning from the bad decisions made by central figures of the Old Testament; drawing insight from wisdom books like Psalms and Proverbs; or studying and seeking to apply the teachings of Jesus, we can find more than enough help for navigating the complex and often confusing world of decision-making.

As Proverbs 1:7 instructs, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Good decision-making starts with knowing God, trusting Him, and obeying what He says. 

There Are Times When Fear Isn’t Such a Bad Thing

Do you like feeling afraid? If you do, congratulations – you’ve established yourself clearly in the minority. We live in a fear-filled world, and should we somehow fail to remember that, we can count on the mass media to give us a strong reminder. In fact, one prominent national news anchor declared, when he didn’t know he was being recorded, that the media’s primary role is to “scare the public to death.” (Actually, he said it more strongly than that.)

 

If someone were to ask what makes us fearful, many of us wouldn’t hesitate to respond: The cursed pandemic, which has disrupted everyday life more than we could have imagined and seems determined never to go away. But COVID-19 isn’t the only culprit in the fear factory.

Long before we had ever heard the words “coronavirus,” we had plenty of other reasons for feeling anxious about our health – cancer, heart disease, pneumonia, common flu and diabetes, to name just a few. We can fear not just for our own health, but also for our loved ones.

 

Then there are the ever-present financial fears: How can I get enough money for what I need? Do I have enough now? Will I have enough in the future? What if an unexpected calamity occurs – what then?

 

If those don’t suffice for keeping your emotions in fear mode, there’s always the future. As someone has keenly observed, “The future isn’t what it used to be.” With the craziness all around us in the world, we might worry about lies ahead for our children, or if you’re old enough, grandchildren. We might feel grave concern about the security of our jobs. Severe weather always seems looming around the corner. Then there’s another kind of fear – the unknowns of growing old and what issues that will bring.

 

So, if we enjoy feeling afraid, there’s no end to the fear-inducing options available. But if we don’t wish to remain in a constant state of high, fearful alert, the Bible offers numerous exhortations urging us to do the opposite. In Isaiah 41:10, God says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

 

Another passage, one of my favorites, admonishes, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

 

However, there is one type of fear the Scriptures don’t discourage. In fact, they highly recommend it. It’s the fear of the Lord, although this isn’t the shaking in your boots, anxiously looking over your shoulder kind of fear. It’s a reverential awe for the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present God who created us and sustains us every day. 

 

This form of fear enables us to maintain proper perspectives and set right priorities. Here’s a sampling of biblical prescriptions for having a proper, holy fear of God:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

“The fear of the Lord lengthens one’s life, but the years of the wicked are cut short” (Proverbs 10:27).

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise” (Psalm 111:10).

“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid” (Psalm 112:1,8).

“The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life” (Proverbs 14:27).

“The fear of the Lord will keep you from sinning” (Exodus 20:20).

 

When I read these passages and others like them, they don’t produce a sense of foreboding, that God is ready to pounce the moment I mess up. Rather, it’s a sense of confidence and security, a trust that as the title of the old TV series said, “Father Knows Best.” He's more than able to carry us through the fearful trials of life. And if we strive to heed what He says, life will be far better than anything we could experience on our own without Him.

 

If we truly fear God, as the Scriptures teach us to do, we can avoid succumbing to every other kind of fear that the world throws at us. 

Proverbs Always Worth Pondering

For many years, I’ve found reading a chapter of Proverbs corresponding with the date of the month very profitable. The wisdom and insights this single book of the Bible offers are astonishing. Even for someone that doesn’t believe in God, reading Proverbs regularly would be very beneficial.

In fact, I authored a book some years back, Business At Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace, giving many examples of how it relates to the 21^stcentury world of work. I’ve referred to some of the principles from time to time in this blog, and can’t help but wonder about the difference it would make if more people not only read Proverbs, but put what it says into practice.

Being one of the so-called “wisdom books” of the Bible, Proverbs starts with saying much about the value of wisdom itself. It observes, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline” (Proverbs 1:7). Sounds a tad intolerant perhaps, but at least the primary author, King Solomon of Israel, didn’t mince words.

Need advice on personal financial management? Proverbs 3:9-10 has this to say: “Honor the Lord with your wealth, and the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” As has sometimes been said, you can’t out-give God. So giving to support His work will never leave you short. 

Industrialist R.G. LeTourneau for much of his life practiced what could be termed a “reverse tithe” – giving 90 percent of his income to charitable causes and keeping only 10 percent. He explained it this way: “I try to shovel out more for God than He can for me, but He always wins. He’s got a bigger shovel.”

We so often hear and read about people – respected individuals – who fall prey to many forms of temptation. Regarding those pitfalls, Proverbs offers this simple admonition: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Emotional impulses sometimes lead to actions we otherwise would not consider rationally, so making sure our hearts are in the right place, always putting God first and then others close to us, can protect ourselves from potential snares.

There are those who regard biblical teaching as restrictive, even archaic. But according to the writer of Proverbs, observing what it says can ensure a joyous, fulfilling life. “For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life” (Proverbs 6:23).

Occasionally, Proverbs provides vivid pictures of what can happen when we choose to disobey God’s laws and commands. None is clearer than the description of a young man who succumbed to an attractive female’s seductions: “With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose…little knowing it will cost him his life” (Proverbs 7:21-23).

Reports of unethical behavior and wrongdoing seem sadly commonplace these days, not only in the business world but also in the realms of politics, the news and entertainment media, and even the Church. Concerning that we find this warning:“The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out” (Proverbs 10:9).

I’ve cited this passage before, but it’s a special favorite of mine – since it pertains to a weakness I have – and it’s always worth reviewing: “In the abundance of words transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise” (Proverbs 10:19). Another verse reinforces that truth: “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue” (Proverbs 17:28). I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve tried to remind myself of that.

There are numerous other examples to cite, but in view of the epidemic of arrogance and excessive pride that seems to afflict our society – on every side of the political and ideological spectrum – here are three more verses that seem appropriate:

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).

“Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor” (Proverbs 18:12).

“Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life” (Proverbs 22:4).

These just scratch the surface. I highly recommend reading Proverbs to start off every day. It’s an inexhaustible source of wisdom for many of the issues and problems we deal with every day. As the old TV commercial used to say, “Try it. You’ll like it!”

One Thing the Internet Can’t Teach Us

I never cease to marvel over the vast and ever-growing storehouse of knowledge the Internet offers to us. Years ago, when doing research for a book or an article, I’d usually jump in the car and drive to the nearest library. I have nothing against libraries – they’re fun places to visit – but thanks to the Internet I haven’t needed to go to a library for information in several years.

Just about anything we could think can be found on the Internet: biographies, famous quotations, recipes, summaries of books and films, health information, do-it-yourself tips (not that I’d have any interest in those), sports statistics, weather forecasts, phone numbers, map and directions. You name it, it’s there.

My wife and I recently marked our 40^th anniversary, so out of curiosity I looked up the year 1974 on the Internet to see what was going on then – it was too long ago to remember! I found out Richard Nixon was in the midst of the Watergate scandal; 24-hour a day radio news coverage was just starting; “Happy Days” was beginning its 11-year TV run; Peter Benchley’s book, Jaws, was published; Barbra Streisand was singing “The Way We Were”; and somebody named Woody Hayes was coaching the Ohio State football team.

We'd all like to be wise as the proverbial owl.
But where and how does the owl get its wisdom?

You can find anything you need to learn online. That is, almost anything. One thing you can’t learn from the Internet is wisdom.

True, you can learn the definition of wisdom. The one I like best is: “the ability or result of an ability to think and act utilizing knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense, and insight.” Another defines wisdom as “the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment.”

We can even find out what other people have said about wisdom. I never thought of the late great rock guitarist and vocalist Jimi Hendrix as a fount of wisdom, but he observed, “Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.” Must have come from one of his more elucidating LSD moments.

Author Aldous Huxley asserted, “Experience is not what happens to you; it's what you do with what happens to you.” There’s considerable wisdom in that recognition. Sounds like the voice of experience.

Philosopher Socrates once stated, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” I wouldn’t go that far, but it’s occurred to me that the older you get and the more you think you know, the more you discover you don’t know yet.

Revered Chinese philosopher Confucius pointed to the reality of wisdom’s attainment when he said, “By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.”

President Calvin Coolidge gave a similar view when he commented, “Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. It may not be difficult to store up in the mind a vast quantity of facts within a comparatively short time, but the ability to form judgments requires the severe discipline of hard work and the tempering heat of experience and maturity.”

The Internet truly is a bottomless well for information and knowledge, and we can learn a lot about wisdom, but you’ll never gain wisdom solely through mental exercise. It is, as Huxley commented, what you do with what you get. And there’s no substitute for time and experience.

But there’s one more source of wisdom we too often disregard entirely. The Scriptures tell us where to find it: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

James 1:5 says wisdom can be ours just for the asking: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” But there’s a caveat to such a request, as the next verse points out. “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6).

Later in the book it states, “The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17). That sounds like something worth having.

True, much of wisdom comes through the everyday grind of life’s hard knocks. As someone as said, the way to get wisdom is through experience, and the way to gain good experience is by making mistakes and having bad experiences. But if we can tap into the wisdom of God, maybe we can avoid having to endure some of those bad experiences brought about by foolish mistakes. I’ve already made more than my share of those!

Do We Have a Wisdom Deficit?

The amount of knowledge available to mankind is growing exponentially, in part because of computer technology, along with our extensive use of tablets and smartphones. If you need information on virtually any topic, it’s only clicks away.

We no longer need to trudge into the library and hunt through stacks of books to find one with the exact information we need. Select the search engine you prefer, type in the appropriate words and “voila!” – there it is. And you didn’t have to drive anywhere or even get up from your chair.

In this Wikipedia Commons photo,
Auguste Rodin's "The Thinker"
seems to be contemplating
where to find wisdom.

And when was the last time you heard of anyone buying a real set of encyclopedias? We used to spend hundreds of dollars for a couple dozen volumes only to discover within a year they were already out of date. Before we knew it, the Book of Knowledge didn’t know as much as we thought it did. Now we’ve got Wikipedia and other online sources being updated constantly.

The thing about knowledge and information, however, is they’re not the same as wisdom. Yes, wisdom requires knowledge, but it’s more than that. It’s also a blend of experience, insight, and as I recently heard someone state, “just judgment.” Wisdom is the quality in a person you look for when making a critical decision – someone you can approach, lay out the circumstances and pertinent information, and then solicit their viewpoint.

My father used to say, “Some people are so smart they’re stupid.” In other words, they had intellect and a storehouse of knowledge, but didn’t know how to apply it in useful ways. They lacked wisdom. Other people might not have impressive college degrees, but they have “horse sense” –a way of slicing through extraneous details and getting to the heart of the matter to find a workable solution to a dilemma.

Today as a people, a society, even a global community, we’re beset with problems that defy resolution: Poverty, escalating violence, looming threats of terrorism, global hunger, wars, fractured families, racism and bigotry, among others. Politicians can’t seem to move beyond their partisan agendas to find answers in the best interests of all.

On a personal level, we wrestle with our own unique issues: the seemingly endless pursuit of happiness, seeking direction for everyday living, restoring troubled relationships, feelings of despair and hopelessness, searching for meaning and purpose.

These issues have confronted mankind through the centuries, but it seems we’re no closer to finding answers today, despite the amassed facts and information at our disposal. Could it be the problem is not knowledge, but a deficit of wisdom?

Where do we get this wisdom? I don’t recall seeing it on sale at Wal-Mart, Publix or Target, and I’ve never heard of a university or college offering Wisdom 101, let alone Wisdom 452. We can acquire a measure of wisdom simply through the process of living, learning from experiences good and bad, and striving to act accordingly. But there’s a time-honored source we seem to have forgotten in our increasingly secularized society – the Bible.

James 1:5 states, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” But in large measure we’ve collectively decided we don’t need God – somehow we think we’re doing fine without Him. As a result, “You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God” (James 4:2).

The Bible’s “book of wisdom” starts by proclaiming, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7). In refusing to honor and worship God, choosing to worship the creation rather than the Creator – as the apostle Paul writes in Romans 1:25 – we deprive ourselves of the primary source of wisdom.

Proverbs 3:19 declares, “By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place.” We’re rightfully concerned with the state of our physical world, wanting to protect this earth God fashioned and entrusted to our care, but we refuse to consult Him on what we should do. Guess we’ve decided we know better than He does.

But even at the “down home” level, we desperately need wisdom for sailing the often murky waters of marriage; raising strong, stable children in an age of so many contradictory messages; handling finances in an uncertain economy; finding peace in the midst of great pain and unrest. If we’re willing to look, God has provided how-to’s in the Scriptures:

“Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:5-7).