Seeking God’s Wisdom in a World Full of Fools

Many historians trace April Fools’ Day back to 1500s France and the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar. It seems some of the French were unaware of the change and continued using the old Julian calendar, including celebrating the new year on April 1 instead of January 1.

Their ignorance earned them the nickname of being “April fools” – and thus the tradition of concocting hoaxes on the date was born.

Nobody wants to be considered a fool, but as sinful and fallen people, we do foolish things all the time.

The Bible pulls no punches when it comes to warning us about the folly of unwise and reckless behavior. In Scripture, fools deny God’s existence altogether or outright ignore His teaching, spend little or no time discerning His perspective and seem either disinterested or oblivious to the short or long-term consequences of their worldly behavior.

In other words, ours is a world full of fools.

Yet with the rise of social media, never have so many been given a platform to broadcast so broadly their foolishness.

From mainstream media to academia to entertainment and science, we’re bombarded with both overt and covert inanity.

Solomon noted, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7). James wrote, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given him” (1:5).

America has been embroiled in a destructive cultural revolution for the last six decades. At its beginning in the 1960s, we were told we needed to be liberated from the strangleholds of its religious roots. Restricting sex to marriage was called oppressive and regressive. Enduring our way through marital discord was called cruel and abusive. Divorce was called freeing, hence the introduction of no-fault filings.

Elites began preaching on the benefits of smaller families or on the freedom of no children at all. Contraceptives were to unshackle couples from the burdens of sleepless nights and strained bank accounts.

Freedom to experiment sexually then led to rampant and reckless sexual perversion. Homosexuality was relabeled by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) from a disorder to just another social choice. Cultural acceptance soon followed.

The widespread understanding of just two genders, male and female, held for thousands of years. It’s only in recent years that the inconceivable and foolish idea that gender is a choice, a social construct, began to emerge. This madness has resulted in heartbreaking consequences ranging from sexual abuse to the violation of private space to the stealing of well-earned athletic achievements.

Over the years, abortion has evolved from a criminal enterprise to the government and society funding and financing it. A child’s right to live has been long ago surpassed by a woman’s right to choose.

It’s all stupidity, idiocy, irrationality and illogicality. 

But it’s not surprising.

God saw it all coming, which is why Solomon warned, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice” (Proverbs 12:15).

The world’s folly and fools are found in everyday headlines, on social media, in movies, sadly, serving in elected office, even running and teaching in America’s schools. 

Conversely, we can find the antidote to this foolishness by turning our hearts and minds over to the Lord, by seeking His wisdom, obeying His rules and following His instructions.

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