Foolishness: September 26, 2012

TODAYS WORD FOR WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

FOOLISHNESS

DEFINITION:

Lacking in good sense, wisdom, judgment or discretion; lacking in meaning or purpose.

SCRIPTURE:

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. I Corinthians 2:14

Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him. Proverbs 22:15.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Several times in our lifetime we have made decisions that we looked back on and said to one another, "That was a foolish decision." We then tried to ask ourselves what were the reasons that made us make that decision. Did we see any so called "red flags" -- things that should have been an alert to us to reverse that decision? We also asked ourselves did we learn from it so that we would not repeat a similar decision. If we evaluate foolish decisions properly after they have been made, we learned that the evaluation process became a great learning experience for us.

Foolishness is a word that Paul used several times in the scripture. In the verse above from I Corinthians, Paul reminds us that the "natural man," one that does not believe in Jesus as Lord, feels that the things of the spirit of God are foolishness to him. The natural man lacks understanding and cannot understand spiritual truths. Only the believer can understand the things of the spirit.

Understanding God's message to us and to the world, as given in His Word, has nothing to do with one's intelligence. The message that God sent His Son into the world to die on the cross as a condemned criminal in order to save a world of sinners who rejected and denied Him cannot be comprehended by the human mind, no matter how intelligent a person might be. The spiritual eyes of the unbeliever are blinded and they cannot see the truth.

In I Corinthians 1:18-19 Paul said, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are saved (and have accepted Jesus as Savior) it is the power of God. For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."

In Proverbs 22:15 (above), the writer reminds us that foolishness is in the heart of a child but correction will drive that foolishness from the child. The word foolishness in Hebrew means silliness, perverseness and careless of body. The rod of correction cannot change the sin nature, but it can subdue the foolish desires of our sinful nature because it demonstrates that foolish acts have consequences. Without correction children will continue to do foolish things because they do not understand the danger.

Foolishness is a form of sin according to Proverbs 24:9 and according to Mark 7: 21-23 sin originates in the heart. Ecclesiastics 7:25 tells us that foolishness is a sign of wickedness. Unlike wisdom, the foolishness of sin is inborn. The consequence of foolishness, according to the scripture, brings sorrow to people and keeps us from knowing God and increases our spiritual blindness.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in James 1:22.

But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

PRAYER:

Thank You for opening my spiritual eyes so that I can see that the gospel message of salvation is not foolishness. Help my family today to live a life style that others will see Christ through our actions and words. May foolishness not be seen in our lives. Help us to honor Your name and may we be challenged each moment to serve You to our very best.