Don’t Be Foolish!

Romans 1:21-  Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. NKJV

The Bible has a lot to say about foolish ways. It characterizes those individuals who reject God, His ways, and His wisdom as foolish; refusing, or unable to obey Him. When Jesus walked among men, He spoke repeatedly about those, who by their very actions, show disregard and opposition to the Father. In today’s blog, I want to share a few of these things to remind us not to be foolish!

Jesus shared a parable with His disciples of a foolish young man. In the parable, the man had been blessed immensely with the yield of a great harvest. His harvest was so great that he began to think about what he could do with his goods.

So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.

Luke 12:18 NKJV

Jesus said that the man came up with the idea to make bigger barns for his goods and his crops so that he could store them up for himself. You might be thinking that was his choice to make. And it was! But the young man showed his foolishness when he made the following observation:

And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” 

Luke 12:9 NKJV

This young man was only thinking about himself! His goods were to be stored up so that he could live the high life, heaping pleasures on himself. Before you start thinking that you don’t have to worry about being foolish in this way because you are not wealthy, let me stop you!

God’s blessings are upon us all. We may all be at a different place financially, but we can all attest to the fact that we are blessed. When our goods and finances are only about us, our lives, our vacations, our family, and our needs, then we are responding like the rich young ruler. We’ve been blessed to be a blessing! Things didn’t end too well for the young man:

But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

Luke 12:20 NKJV

I know of a person who lived their life as a miser but died wealthy and alone. After their death, others benefitted from those millions. People they didn’t even know got to spend that money. That’s foolish! Being a blessing to others because you choose to bless them is much better than dying and having strangers enjoy the fruit of your labors! The young man’s heart was darkened to the needs around him and his foolishness led to his demise.

Jesus spoke another parable of a foolish individual.

“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

Matthew 7:26-27 NKJV

Don’t be offended if you have built a house on the beach! But haven’t you noticed that during hurricane season, the houses on the beaches are the most vulnerable? With new technology, builders have figured out how to anchor them a lot better, but they are still in a vulnerable position to be destroyed. Some of these homes suffer damage on a regular basis and the people just keep rebuilding. That’s foolish!

Jesus said that if you build your house, spiritually or naturally, on the sand when the rain and floods come, your foundation isn’t strong enough to withstand the beating it’s going to get. Therefore, He encourages us to build on rock, a firm foundation. In this parable, He equates sand to those who are too foolish to obey the teachings of His word. They have a lot of philosophies and theoretical mumble jumble to oppose His teachings, but He calls that type of living, foolishness! Living life based on your feelings, your emotions, your ancestors, or any other thing that is not the Word of God is just plain foolishness!

The last example that I have time for today is the five foolish young women!

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them

Matthew 25:1-3 NKJV

This parable has several meanings. Mostly, this parable is about the church as a whole, but for today, I’m looking through the lens of individuality. There were 10 people, five of them were wise, the Savior said, and five of them were foolish. The wise virgins or young women had their lamps with extra oil with them. The five foolish young women had their lamp with no extra oil.

As the young women awaited the bridegroom, they all fell asleep. It took him some time to show up. But when he finally got there and they were all awakened, it was midnight.

Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 

Matthew 25:7-9 NKJV

The oil in the lamps of the foolish young women is either out, or low and they are in need of more oil. So they have to go find some oil at midnight. Oil in the Bible has always been representative of the Holy Spirit. I don’t have the time or space to prove this point today, but it is a scriptural truth. Remembering that Jesus is speaking a parable about the kingdom, He is using oil to reference His Holy Spirit.

Jesus is saying that trying to live this life without His Spirit is just plain foolishness! As you go through this life, it will seem as if He is taking too long to come! But having His Spirit in your life is a safety net for you! His Spirit will keep you in the darkest hour! His Spirit will lead you when you can’t see your way! His Spirit will uphold you when you are tired. And when you fall asleep, His Spirit will wake you up!! To ignore His Spirit and to think that you can do life on any level without Him is just plain foolishness! Don’t be foolish!

What are my takeaways for you today? Don’t be foolish regarding the blessings in your life. Jesus encourages us to help others when we have more than they do. I was watching an interview with Melinda French Gates, ex-wife of Bill Gates. She spoke about why they give so much money away. She said that they have more money than they could ever spend in their lifetime and giving it away doesn’t take away from her lifestyle. Therefore, they use it to change the course of people’s lives. That’s wise. Am I saying she is a Christian, nope! But she is demonstrating the wisdom of God in this area of her life!

Living your life based on the teachings of the Word of God is wisdom, not foolishness, as the world wants you to believe. They are wrong and Jesus is right! Believing that you only need a Sunday morning relationship with the Word, is just plain foolishness! We need to obey the Word of God all day, every day! So don’t be foolish!

Embracing the truth of the Holy Spirit’s ability to bless your life, encourage your life, and protect your life is sound teaching! Living life without His presence is foolishness! Don’t be foolish! Wonderful Jesus!